


Chloe Was Here

by egg_rolls, key_lime_pie



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-03 18:51:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 65,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5302835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egg_rolls/pseuds/egg_rolls, https://archiveofourown.org/users/key_lime_pie/pseuds/key_lime_pie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max Caulfield had made the hardest decision of her life, but the storm is still coming, and this time, saving Chloe Price isn't her choice to make. A twist on the Sacrifice Chloe ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Rachel is Here](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/159287) by PriestessAmy. 
  * Inspired by [LiS Unused Audio - William in Max's Nightmare](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/170290) by chloepriceprotectionsquad.tumblr.com. 
  * Inspired by [LiS Unused Audio - "You Don't Always Need To Rescue Me"](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/170296) by chloepriceprotectionsquad.tumblr.com. 



> On warnings: we're assuming interested readers have played the game or are familiar enough with it to know what to expect.

**Prologue: Butterfly Effect**

_“Damn, Max, still can’t believe you saved my life again! That’s, what, two times now?”_

_“Kind of? I mean, you, um, shot yourself when I told you to shoot the bumper of the car. Sorry about that, Chloe.”_

_“Hey, I’m not mad. You’re hella awesome for rewinding and saving me a trip to the hospital. They’d definitely think I was suicidal after the last time, and I don’t need to deal with that shit, too. Actually, they’d probably just think I’m stupid. Yeah, definitely stupid.”_

_“Last time?”_

_“Yeah, ‘bout… six months ago, I guess? Yeah, around that. Got a little carried away when I was partying with Rachel. Tried crack for the first time, didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, and I OD’d. Last thing I remember was my chest hurting, my arms and legs tingling and Rachel freaking out before it all went black. Woke up, was in the hospital, and Rachel was bawling like crazy, said I my heart nearly gave out, that I was actually dead for a little while. Crazy, right? It’s like the universe is gunning for me.”_

_“Or telling you to be more careful. God, Chloe, I can’t believe you almost died.”_

_“Hah. Yeah. Stuck to weed after that. And, really? You? The girl who’s seen me die twice and shoot myself like an idiot? That’s hilarious! Come on, Super Max, you know you’re always gonna save my ass, ‘cause you hella love it. And me.”_

_“Yeah, well, Super Max has a class to get to.”_

_“Nerd. Don’t worry, I’ll get you there with time to spare. Shit, that was clever! Maybe that should be my catchphrase!”_

_“You’re a dork.”_

_“You love it, like you love me.”_

Max dropped the photo in her hand, selfishly wishing it were just as easy to discard the memory stuck in her head and the many others like it. The blue butterfly was gone now, akin to what will happen to everything she had shared with Chloe.

She hid behind the stall and waited, telling herself over and over that this was the right thing to do, that it was for the best and most of all, it was what Chloe wanted. It wasn’t fair, not after what they had both been through, and it wasn’t what she wanted, but Chloe had to die today.

Nathan showed up as expected, talking to himself as he had before. Max knew every word that came out of his mouth, every pause and every stutter. She had lived this moment too many times.

Then the door opened, and Chloe walked in.

“Oh. H-hey, Price. Think you can come back later? I’m… I’m supposed to meet someone here.”

“What, in the girl’s room? You some kind of pervert now, Prescott?”

What was going on? Max thought. Had she done something wrong?

“Shove it, Price. Wasn’t my choice, okay!”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

Glass cracked, followed by a stall door slapping hard against the wall, and then a struggle, a whimper and a plea, but the gunshot never came. Max stood frozen behind the stall, staring at the butterfly picture at her feet, all the noise seeming so far away. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. What had changed?

Chloe and Nathan didn’t argue. Nathan hadn’t fired the gun. Chloe was still alive.

Chloe was still alive.

Finally, Max moved, but she didn’t get far, because there was Chloe, alive and unharmed, pointing a gun at her.

“Oh, Max, it’s just you,” Chloe said with a laugh, like she wasn’t just about to pull the trigger. “Hang on a sec, yeah?”

Not waiting for an answer, Chloe tossed up the gun in her hand, caught it by the barrel and headed to one of the stalls.

“Chloe, what’s going on---” Max gasped, unable to finish her question when she saw the broken, bloodied mirror. “Oh, my God,” she mumbled, whipping around to face the stall, and was met with the horrific sight of her best friend brutally pummeling Nathan Prescott with the gun. “Chloe! Chloe, stop!”

When Chloe didn’t listen, Max rushed in, wrapping her arms around her best friend from behind and trying to pull her away.

“You pull this shit on me again, Prescott, I’ll turn you into a fucking cripple,” Chloe growled savagely, kicking him in the stomach. “I own you and your family, don’t you fucking forget that.”

Max dared to look at Nathan, the sight of his beaten, bloodied face making her feel ill.

“God, Chloe,” she rasped, tightening her hold on her best friend. “He’s really hurt, we should… we should get help.”

She couldn’t believe what she was saying. This was Nathan. He drugged Kate, he killed Rachel, and she had been ready to let him kill Chloe. Now, he lay on the bathroom floor, drenched in his own piss, blood and tears, begging for his life.

“Fuck that,” Chloe muttered, kicking Nathan again.

“I’m s-sorry. I’m sorry!” he sobbed, shielding his face with his arms. “Won’t do it again, won’t do it again, I promise. Just… just give me more time, please, a few more days!”

“You got until Thursday,” Chloe snapped, “or you and your family can kiss Arcadia Bay goodbye.”

Feeling that Chloe was still tensed, Max gave her best friend a squeeze.

“That’s enough, Chloe. Please. I don’t know what’s going on, but that’s enough.”

For a moment, it seemed to make Chloe more rigid, but eventually, she relaxed.

“Yeah. Okay. Okay, Max,” she said, her voice warm and comforting. “Look, we gotta get out of here. We’ll talk later, okay? Just pretend you weren’t here until then.”

Max took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Okay,” she relented, letting Chloe go.

True to her word, Chloe left Nathan alone, instead walking towards one of the sinks. She emptied the gun chamber deftly, clicking the safety and keeping the bullets, and then she turned on the water to wash the blood off the grip of the gun. Max watched her best friend, unnerved by how comfortable Chloe seemed with the gun, even more when she realized it was Nathan’s.

When the gun was clean, Chloe grabbed a backpack from the floor and opened it, casually tossing the weapon and bullets inside.

“Gotta change first, Max. Can’t go out there with bloody clothes.”

Max was barely able to look away before Chloe undressed without a care. She waited, gauging by the rustle of clothes, and when she looked back up, Chloe was in a clean tank and jacket and was tossing a second gun in her bag. A gun, Max noticed, that didn’t look like any of David’s.

“So, what were you doing here, anyway?” Chloe asked, as if Nathan wasn’t bleeding and sobbing quietly just behind them. “Oh, you were taking a picture?” she figured out herself, because was Max was thinking of an answer, Chloe had gone to the corner she hid in and found the photo herself. “You’re such a photo nerd. Here, you probably want this back.”

Max gingerly took it, again staring at the blue butterfly.

“Thanks,” she whispered absently.

“It’s a nice shot, dude,” Chloe said, putting an arm around her and leading her out of the bathroom without so much as a glance at Nathan. “That’s a hella pretty butterfly.”

On the way out, they came across Principal Wells, who greeted them with a smile.

“Ah, Max, Chloe. Had a good day at school, I hope.”

“Every day I’m still here is a good day to me, sir,” Chloe answered for both of them, flashing him a toothy grin. “You gave my sorry ass a second chance and I got my GPA up there. Hard part’s keepin’ it that way.”

“Well,” Principal Wells chuckled, “from what I’ve seen, you’re managing just fine, Chloe. Your amazing turnaround does Blackwell and the community proud. Your family and friends as well, of course, that’s a given.”

“It’s why I keep on trying, sir,” Chloe said, laughing with him. “Gotta show all the slackers and losers out there it’s never too late to unfuck your life.”

“You’ve definitely come a long way,” Principal Wells praised despite Chloe’s swearing, every single thing coming out of his mouth and every laugh and smile seeming too perfectly rehearsed. “Now, I’m sure I’ve kept you both long enough. You girls take care.”

Max could only wave absently at Principal Wells, trying to process what had just happened.

Chloe was back in school, was an honor student even, and she was doing so well that it was giving Blackwell good publicity and Principal Wells was sucking up to her. What else had changed?

“So, you still up for the diner?” Chloe asked once they were out the doors, completely at ease with herself and the bloody clothes and two guns in her backpack.

“You want to talk there?” Max asked back, getting a laugh in response.

“No, I want to eat there. I’m starving. We can talk all you want after, all the time in the world for that.”

“Oh,” Max mumbled, feeling smaller than usual under Chloe’s arm. “Sorry, it’s kind of hard to keep my mind off it.”

“Yeah,” Chloe sighed, sounding contrite. “Sucks you had to see that, but I’m kinda glad you were there. Would’ve been a hella lot more trouble if I had to shoot the asshole. Anyway, promise I’m not hiding anything, just isn’t the right time and place for it. So, what say we eat and go to your dorm after? Or my house, wherever you want.”

Max turned to Chloe, realizing it was the first time she actually had a good look at her friend, and stared blankly at the brow piercing and nose stud, piercings she knew Chloe didn’t, shouldn’t have.

“Yeah,” she blurted out, “as long as we talk.”

Chloe gave her a winning smile, for a moment looking every bit like the Chloe she knew and loved.

“Awesome, let’s get to my ride and bounce.”

At the parking lot, they found Chloe’s truck easily enough. It was surrounded by people, many of the faces familiar to Max, but there was one face that made her freeze, the girl in the center of the crowd.

Rachel Amber, breathtaking, beautiful and alive, ran into Chloe Price’s arms and kissed her.

* * *

 

**Chapter 1: A World Too Perfect**

It was a surreal feeling for Max, to be sitting in a truck next to two girls who were supposed to be dead.

She didn’t understand. She hadn’t done anything, that was the reason she had gone back, and by her inaction, she had somehow brought Rachel Amber back from the dead and Chloe Price had walked out of that bathroom unscathed.

Was this some kind of reward for making the right choice, for choosing to save the lives of many over the life of the girl she loved? Was everything she had gone through just a test? Did sacrificing Chloe mean she had forfeited her to Rachel?

“Max, you alright?” a kind voice asked, snapping Max out of her haze and back to the present moment. She looked at Rachel, who sat between her and Chloe in the middle seat of the truck. “You kind of spaced, and you’ve been very quiet,” Rachel said, sounding concerned.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, tearing her eyes away from the pretty girl to keep from staring.

There were plenty of other things to look at, like the entirely new and polished interior of Chloe’s old truck. It had been completely redone with new seats, dashboard, a whole radio set up, and tinted windows. A faint smell of vanilla lingered in the air, and a fluffy pair of blue and pink die hung from the rearview window, and on the corner of the windshield, Max saw a small dragon sticker that looked like the one on Rachel’s leg, but this one wasn’t fierce and angry. It cuddled with an electric blue kitty, looking like an extremely customized piece of art.

The outside of the truck had undergone a similar transformation as well: with a fresh layer of paint, a lot of body work, and new tires, Max almost hadn’t recognized the truck. She would have thought it was completely new if the set up inside wasn’t arranged exactly the same.

“I was just thinking…” she said lamely, unable to provide a more believable excuse, she was so overwhelmed.

“Thinking about the Everyday Heroes contest?” Rachel guessed, giving her a warm smile when Max nodded, but kept quiet.

“You have to submit one of your photos, Max,” Rachel said, encouraging her. “You’ve got a lot of good ones, and the deadline is coming up. I’d be happy to help you look through them if you’re having trouble picking one out. ”

“Maybe,” Max said tentatively.

Rachel shook her head.

“You’re too shy, Max. You take such awesome shots, more inspired than mine. Chloe, tell her. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

“I’m not falling for that one, Rachel. Picking between my girlfriend and my best friend? Hella staying out of this,” Chloe said, glancing at them with a roguish grin. She winked. “But if Ms. Morrison has any taste at all, she’s gonna pick you both.”

Rachel grinned, pleased with her girlfriend.

“Nice save, babe.”

“Rachel, gross,” Chloe whined, immediately making a face. “Don’t say that. You sound like Mom!”

“Aww, babe, I’ll fix that,” Rachel cooed, smile growing as her attention turned back to Chloe. Her hazel eyes lit up on her, and she leaned in close to Chloe to kiss up her neck slowly. “You did well,” she purred and kissed her again. “This is why I don’t have to win the contest. I already have my everyday hero right here.”

Max blinked, extremely torn seeing it. It was the best thing in her world to see Chloe smiling like that, but she generally liked that kind of attention being directed at her.

“Babe,” Chloe said with a cocky smirk as her girlfriend lathered her with attention. “Unless you wanna get us all into an accident, you’d better cut that out.”

Max tensed, seeing Chloe in the wheelchair where she was crippled from the neck down.

Chloe must have noticed as Rachel pulled away, because she asked, “Hippie, you alright? I was just kidding, you know? I’m not gonna crash us.”

“Sorry about that, Max,” Rachel apologized, pulling away from Chloe. “Didn’t mean to scare you. No more kissing and driving, I promise. Okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay. It wasn’t about that,” Max insisted, shaking her head. “Sorry, I just keep spacing today. Maybe you’re right, Rachel. I’ve just gotta pick a photo and submit to the contest already.”

“That’s the spirit, Max,” Rachel said, smiling again, and Max couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was when she did so. “You have the talent. Don’t stress about it, okay?”

“Okay, you’re right,” Max relented with a nod and smiled back, silently cursing about how suspicious she must seem. She wished she had her rewind power to redo the conversation. She would just have to be more careful on the zoning out.

“We’re here, ladies!” Chloe announced just a couple of moments later, pulling up into the parking lot of the diner. She got out first and opened the passenger side, bowing gallantly as she waited for them to get out.

Max was first, unable to help but smile at Chloe, and Rachel followed, laughing as she pulled Chloe up and kissed her.

“You can be so cheesy sometimes.”

“You hella love it.”

Max allowed the couple a moment, and then followed them into the diner.

The outside of the place looked just as it should, but once she stepped inside, Max noticed more changes that shouldn’t have been there. The interior was noticeably nicer, showing off new tables and a bar tabletop. It was still decorated the same way with lots of fliers on the walls, the old jukebox in the far corner, and the delicious display of desserts at the end of the bar, but it seemed to have been fixed up a little, shone a little more.

Chloe went to same corner booth that they used to hang out in and let Rachel sit before making herself comfortable. Max took the seat opposite them, and Rachel immediately moved in close to Chloe.

“Now that we’re not in a moving vehicle...” she murmured, stroking a hand up Chloe’s cheek lovingly. She turned her girlfriend’s face towards her and leaned in to capture Chloe’s lips in a passionate kiss and hummed contentedly.

Chloe touched her back, wrapping her arms around Rachel’s neck, and between kisses, she quipped, “I think… Max still minds.”

Rachel separated only long and far enough away to say, “she doesn’t,” before she took Chloe’s lips again, completely unashamed.

Max lowered her eyes as her cheeks flushed with heat. Something tingled in her chest, and despite herself, she glanced back up at her friends, which only made it worse.

“Chloe,” Joyce scolded, playfully swatting her daughter.

Max blanched, shaking herself of the stupor. She hadn’t even noticed Joyce coming to their table.

“You stop that right now, Chloe,” Joyce said, admonishing, but her tone wasn’t angry. “This is a clean, decent establishment.”

“I tried to tell her, Mom,” Chloe said as she and Rachel finally pulled away. “You know how frisky Rachel can be.”

Rachel frowned and grabbed at her, making Chloe squeak. “I’ll show you frisky,” she muttered threateningly.

“See? See!” Chloe exclaimed, squirming away.

Joyce shook her head and sighed, but didn’t look surprised or angry. “You girls, always pawing at each other when I see you these days,” she said with a tsk, and then looked at Max, the only one in the booth who wasn’t making a scene. “I don’t know how you put up with them, Max.”

“Oh,” Max mumbled, and hoped her terrible blush had died down a little. It didn’t feel like it. “They’re fine… it’s cute.”

“Cute,” Joyce huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “More like trouble! I’m afraid I have some bad news, though, girls,” she told them, causing Chloe and Rachel to stop making a grab for each other.

“What’s up, Mom?” Chloe asked, turning towards her.

“David called,” Joyce said. “He’s going to be by late, said something happened at the school that he had to take care of, and that he’s going to be held up for the hour.”

Max looked at Chloe, trying to judge her best friend’s reaction, but Chloe didn’t have one. There was no familiarity, no sign of guilt, remorse, satisfaction, or anything. She was a blank slate, holding that casual look of nonchalance. It was like she hadn’t even been there.

“Looks like we’re in for a bit of a wait,” Rachel remarked, breaking the silence.

“I can still whip you up something,” Joyce said to all of them. “Knowing Chloe’s appetite, you’re probably too hungry to wait.”

“Hey,” Chloe protested.

“Oh, nonsense, Joyce,” Rachel said with a wave of her hand, starting to stand. “We’re fine. You’re the one who has been working all day. You sit down with Max; Chloe and I will take over for a bit.”

“Oh, Rachel,” Joyce said in an endearing voice. “That’s sweet, but you don’t have to---”

“Mom, sit,” Chloe urged her mother, standing up in the seat and hopping out after Rachel. “The place is ours!” she cheered, excitedly ducking under the counter to check the tickets and start cooking. “Take their orders, babe!”

Joyce shook her head again, smiling as Chloe and Rachel took control of the restaurant for a little while, giving the overworked mother a break.

“God help us all,” Joyce murmured to herself before turning to her. “How are you doing, Max? Are those girls exhausting you?”

“No more than usual,” Max answered vaguely and looked at Rachel, who had come up to their table.

“Need a menu, Max?” Rachel asked, holding out a menu to her in offering.

Max shook her head. “Turkey sandwich,” she ordered, and Rachel smiled.

“Of course, Max. I should have figured,” she said, putting her paper and pad over the menu to write down their ticket for Chloe. “And for you, Joyce?”

“Surprise me with whatever Chloe wants to make,” Joyce said, causing a cheer to go up from the kitchen.

“Woohoo! And one juicy chicken parmesan for Mom!” Chloe cheered from behind the bar.

Rachel left them and put the ticket up for Chloe, and Chloe, now decked out in an apron, eagerly took it and began dancing around the kitchen as she cooked. Joyce watched them for a long moment, smiling at Rachel taking another couple’s order, and she especially beamed when she looked at her daughter.

“So much has changed, Max,” Joyce reminisced with a glimmer of light touching her eyes. “To think, some months ago, these two were raising such hell. Look at them now,” she said, lifting a finger under her eye to wipe away a glistening tear before it could fall. “It’s so good to see my baby full of life and hope again.”

Max swallowed nervously, wary about every word she let slip, careful not to betray her ignorance of this world. “I’m so glad things are working out for Chloe,” she said, and Joyce heartily agreed.

“Me, too. It’s only going to get better with you here, Max,” she said, and then turned away from her daughter, laughing. “Oh, listen to me. I’m sorry, hon; I’m just so proud of the three of you. It’s all a mother could hope to see. I’m glad you came back, Max.”

“Me, too,” Max said with a glance at the blue-haired, punk girl behind the counter. Her best friend.

Max couldn’t nail it down, but something was wrong with the girl she loved and adored.

Or maybe she was just jealous.

Max shook her head. With Chloe so outwardly happy, it was hard to admit her hurt feelings over Rachel, but that definitely wasn’t the only reason she was finding something wrong here. Chloe was off, and she wouldn’t know what it was until they talked about it later.

Max watched the couple comfortably work the diner, looking like they had done so a dozen times before. Rachel had their food over to them within ten minutes, and behind the counter, Chloe was rocking out to a beat emitted from from a sole earphone dangling from her ear.

They worked well together, fluid and perfect, exchanging quips, looks, and even lingering brushes here and there that had Joyce shaking her head.

Max ate dinner with Joyce and responded accordingly, but her attention never wavered from the pair.

At one point in their service, Rachel looked over at Joyce and nodded to the back door. Joyce nodded back with a smile, and Rachel disappeared out the back door with a plate of food in her hand.

Max remembered the homeless woman she had stumbled upon in her own universe, the one that had said Joyce often fed her, and she realized that was what Rachel had to be doing just then.

“Don’t tell me you’re not hungry, Max,” Joyce said to her, and Max finally turned away from her friends to the mostly-untouched plate of food in front of her.

“Oh, I am,” Max murmured, politely returning her attention back to Chloe’s mother. “I was just thinking about the Everyday Heroes contest,” she lied, falling back on that fib.

“Oh, your contest,” Joyce said, sounding very familiar with it. “Has Rachel finally convinced you to join?”

“Yeah, just gotta pick my photo out now,” Max said as the jukebox quieted, glancing at Chloe one last time before taking a bite.

“How is it?” Joyce asked expectantly.

“It’s good, really good,” she answered truthfully, making the proud mother smile, “tastes just like how you make it, Joyce.”

* * *

“Alright, Mom, alright,” Chloe said, reluctantly sacrificing her apron to her mother in the booth with Max. “The house is starting to turn on us, anyway. Trucker Dick McFucker’s in the building.”

“Oh, Chloe,” Joyce said, glancing up at the bar to the drab-faced truck driver who always picked a fight with them.

Max recognized him as the same one who had insulted Joyce in her own universe.

“You want me to beat him up, Mom?” Chloe asked with a casual grin, and Max was reminded of the bathroom again, seeing Chloe beat Nathan with the butt of his own gun.

It made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

“Fuckin’ lesbians,” the trucker grumbled from his seat, casting Chloe and Rachel a glare, having overheard them. “Joyce, you running this rathole or what?”

Chloe flipped him off, which he sneered at.

“Babe,” Rachel said and tugged at her sleeve.

Chloe turned around in her seat to face her girlfriend, who wrapped an arm around the back of her neck and leaned in, kissing her.

“Fucking lesbian punk,” the trucker grumbled, which Chloe happily ignored as Rachel bodily took her.

Joyce smiled, not saying anything, and didn’t break up the couple as she stood from the booth.

“Well, I’m sorry we all couldn’t eat together, Max,” Joyce said to her. “Thank you for sharing dinner with me. We’ll have dinner at the house, all of us, sometime soon, okay? And girls,” she said, finally addressing the other two, who had recently become stuck together again. “Thanks for helping out in the diner again.”

Chloe ran a hand through Rachel’s hair and pulled away from her anxious girlfriend to say, “no problem, Mom! Let us know if you need something else.”

“I need something else,” Rachel said, dreamy eyes locked on Chloe.

Chloe grinned broadly. “You miss me today, babe?”

“I always miss you when you’re not with me,” Rachel said, sounding genuine, but not gushy. Every word she said came out smooth, even though she had clearly missed Chloe more than a little bit.

“Maybe I should take you home, Angel,” Chloe said. “We can have dinner and a sleepover.”

“That sounds so domestic,” Rachel said, hazel eyes adoring the girl in front of her. “And divine.”

“Divine, huh?” Chloe said with a winning smirk. “If you like that, maybe we should just get married and---”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence, cut off as Rachel moved in for another kiss.

Standing on her tippy toes, she wrapped her arms around Chloe’s neck and pulled her tall girlfriend down to her.

Sitting in the booth next to them, Max looked away again, temperature spiking as Rachel purred in Chloe’s arms. The noises they were making were embarrassing enough, let alone how very public they were being.

Max thought back to her own kisses with Chloe. She had only had two, and one had been a goodbye kiss. She wished she had savored them more, maybe lingered a little longer the way Rachel and Chloe were. They sounded so taken with each other, like Rachel would follow her to the end of the world.

Would Rachel have given up Chloe?

Max closed her eyes, not wanting to see the perfect, beautiful couple anymore. For as happy as she was that Rachel was alive and with Chloe, she regretted her choice.

Footsteps approached their area, but Max didn’t think much about it until a booming voice rang out.

“Get your hands off her, soldier!”

Max opened her eyes, looking up in just enough time to see Rachel and Chloe separate at David’s demand.

Chloe smiled at the man she had hated in Max’s world. “Sir!” she said and saluted, grinning broadly like a total dork.

“That’s right, keep your hands to yourself, Chloe,” David said, and then Joyce came over.

“David,” she greeted, holding a coffee pot in one hand as she leaned over and gave her husband a quick kiss. “It’s good to see you. Why don’t you sit down and eat with the girls? They haven’t had anything yet. I’ll be by to take your orders in a moment.”

“Don’t work too hard, Joyce,” David said, watching her walk a little bit away before he turned back to his stepdaughter, who hadn’t dropped her salute yet.

“Permission to speak freely, sir!” Chloe requested, making David scrutinize her suspiciously.

“Gonna regret this, but what is it, Chloe?”

“I’m just thinking you’re kind of full of shit, sir!” Chloe said in a straight, no nonsense voice. “How come you get to mack on your woman and I can’t!”

“Get in that booth and sit down, Chloe,” David growled, swatting at her, and Chloe laughed as she finally dropped the stance and hopped into the booth, followed by her giggling girlfriend.

As weird as she found this drastic change of attitude, even Max was smiling.

“Sorry I’m late, girls,” David said, and Max scooted over in the booth so that he could sit next to her at their table. He plopped down into the cushioned seat with a sigh. "Had a situation at school that I had to take care of on the way out."

"What happened?" Rachel asked, moving in close to Chloe in the booth so that they were cuddling.

"Someone laid into Nathan Prescott," David said seriously, and Max immediately looked at Chloe to judge her reaction. "Not like the kid isn’t an asshole who doesn't deserve a good whipping, but he’s pretty beat up. Might have been a few people, by the looks of it, and they were using something. Fists won’t do the kind of damage I saw on that boy.”

Max watched, but Chloe didn’t even blink.

Rachel, on the other hand, looked a little pale. “Is he going to be alright or…?”

“Should be,” David said, not sounding very worried about it. “He was already back to kicking and whining by the time we pulled him outta there. Didn’t tell us who it was, which makes me figure it’s probably a drug deal gone south. I’ll tell ya, it takes balls to go after a Prescott. ‘specially one of their boys. Didn’t think any of the local dealers had it in ‘em.”

Max gave up and returned her attention to David.

“You girls didn’t notice anything suspicious on your way out of school today, did ya? Anyone suspicious loitering around?”

“I didn’t,” Rachel said with a shake of her head. “I went straight to the truck to wait for Chloe and Max, and no one peeled out of the parking lot or anything.”

“Neither did we,” Chloe said casually, drawing Max to look at her out of the corner of her eye. They might have been talking about baking bread, she sounded so at ease about it. “Principal Wells chatted us up a bit before we left the school, but we didn’t notice anything weird on the way out.”

“You notice anything, Max?” David asked, making her nervous as she remembered how David had grilled her before.

She shook her head. “Not a thing,” she mumbled, and David sighed.

“Dammit! I wish those other idiots wouldn’t mess with the security tapes when they don’t know what they’re doing. Figures, they’d mess up the footage on something important,” he said, shaking his head, and then looked between them all very seriously. “I’ll tell you girls, Rachel, Chloe: I’m glad you’re off that shit, back on the straight and narrow again,” he said.

Chloe snickered, grinning broadly. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there, David.”

David looked at her and sighed, exasperated. “You know what I mean, Chloe,” he said.

“We do, David,” Rachel gently interjected, giving her snickering girlfriend a squeeze around the side. She looked at Chloe meaningfully, powerful emotion coming back to her eyes. “It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” she said, and the air between became electric as Rachel gazed at her girlfriend again. “I have something better in my life now.”

Chloe stopped snickering, but the grin remained firmly in place, and as Rachel said it, a bit of a light touched her eyes, illuminating them in a mesmerizing manner.

“Girls,” David said, sensing the same strong tension between them. “There’s a time and a place,” he said, and then when that didn’t snap them out of it, added. “Don’t make me switch seats with you, soldier.”

Chloe chuckled again, giving her stepfather a passing smirk as her eyes quickly returned back to her girlfriend.

David seemed to give up, then, prepared for the inevitable, and turned his attention to Max, the only one who could focus outside of their enthralling desire.

“Max, I know these two are a bit much sometimes, but you won’t find any better company in Blackwell. Steer clear of that Vortex Club and Nathan Prescott. That kid’s into all kinds of shit and he’s getting away with it because of his family. That kind of life, he’s going to drag people down to hell with him someday. Rachel and Chloe got out in time, and you, Max, you’re better off not risking it.”

Max nodded, not even minding how much that sounded like an order. “I’m not going to get caught up with Nathan Prescott in any way,” she said, knowing better. “I promise, David.”

“Good,” he said with an approving nod. “Keep it that way, kid. Anyway,” he said, turning back to the table at large. “Sorry to bring my work to dinner, not that you two seem to mind…” he trailed off and Max peeped at her friends again.

She blushed.

“Chloe, we’re about to eat. Get your tongue out of Rachel’s throat and join us,” David reprimanded.

It took them a long, lingering moment, but they finally pulled away from each other, Rachel with a satisfied look in her eyes, but wanton, and Chloe, wearing a shit-eating grin.

“You need to relax, David,” she said. “Nathan’s not gonna be your problem in a few days when you’re sailing off to the Caribbean islands with Mom. Just think about that, alright?”

Rachel still seemed stuck in a happy haze, but she had rejoined them enough to process and say, “I still can’t believe you guys won that vacation. An all-expense paid cruise, and fourteen days on the islands? That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s about time something good happened to this family,” Chloe said, and from the table behind them, where Joyce was coming from, her mother said.

“You’re awfully eager to get us out of the house, aren’t you, Chloe?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at her daughter. “You best behave while we’re gone, sweetie. No sleepovers.”

Chloe gave her mother a look, and Joyce paused, coming to a standstill. She laughed, suddenly, breaking out into a joyous and happy-sounding fit of giggles. “Oh, excuse me,” she said, laughter subsiding, but the smile did not. “I just imagined I’d been talking to my little girl again.”

Joyce put a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and rubbed it. “Of course, you’re going to have sleepovers, but really, try to keep on your best behavior, Chloe. I don’t want to come home and find a mess.”

“Hey, that toppled bookshelf was not my doing,” Chloe said, defending herself. “I’m not the book nerd, she is!”

“Exactly what I mean when I say behave, Chloe,” Joyce said.

“It’s okay,” David said, sounding unconcerned. “Max is here now. She can watch them.”

A small twinkle returned to Chloe’s eye and she grinned. “Oh, yeah,” she said, laying it on thick. “Max watches us all the time. She’s really good at that.”

Max felt her cheeks start to warm, and Chloe’s grin turned into a smirk.

“Perv,” she said.

“Oh, my God,” Max said, burying her red face into her arms. “Shut up, Chloe.”

“Hah, I knew it!” Chloe joyously said, sounding as if she had won a prize.

“I do not watch!” Max said, lifting her head from her folded arms. “You two are insane with the PDA! I see it like everybody does!”

“Not like everybody,” Chloe said, grinning as she shook her head. “You like it.”

“Chloe, I hate you,” Max said, hiding her face again, very aware of Joyce and David right next to her in the room.

“You love me,” Chloe corrected, and Max could see that smirk even while she was hiding her face. “Or at least, you love my body.”

“PS: I own that body, Max,” Rachel teasingly said, joining in on the fun.

Max cheeks burned.

“Well, there you go!” Chloe said. “I was going to invite you over for another threesome, but sounds like Rachel wants me all to herself tonight. Maybe next time, Max.”

If she could still rewind, she would have, and would have thought of something clever and less incriminating to say, but tragically, the world had chosen to take its revenge on her now, and all Max could think to say was, “you guys suck.”

* * *

_Good news is I’m still going to Blackwell Academy! I’m glad my parents are still letting me go, what with that whole thing with Mark Jefferson. God, I still can’t believe that he’s a fucking psycho. It makes me sick to think of how much I worshipped his work! I mean, he’s the reason I wanted to go to Blackwell Academy in the first place! Ugh, makes me feel gross now. I got rid of all the shit of his I had and I still feel a little gross. To think, I could have been in his class if they didn’t catch him, I could have been one of those girls! I can’t imagine how horrible that must have been for them. It’s selfish to say, but I feel so lucky I didn’t meet that psycho at all. Oh, those poor girls. I hope that asshole rots in prison for the rest of his life._

 

_So it looks like the new photography teacher is going to be Jaclynn Morrison. I don’t know how Blackwell snagged a world famous fashion photographer, but all the bad press they were getting because of… of him, ugh, I feel gross just thinking about his name, it was really scaring people off, so I can see why they went after someone like her. And, I guess, if I were a photographer... a famous one, anyway, I’d kind of want to prove that not all of us are psychos._

 

_Wowser, I had the craziest first day. I actually ran into my BFF Chloe Price! Okay, that’s not exactly how it happened. Her girlfriend, Rachel Amber, who, by the way, is friggin’ gorgeous, like, wow, she’s so beautiful it’s mesmerizing, and I would jump at the chance to have her pose for me if she’d give me the time of day and--- okay, okay, I’m rambling. Anyway, Rachel is in my photography class and she recognized me by name! She said Chloe talks about me a lot and misses me._

_To be honest, I thought Rachel was shitting me, she’s too nice for her own good. I’ve been such a bad friend to Chloe. I didn’t contact her once since I moved away, and it was just after William passed. Man, some best friend I am, bailing on her when her dad died. I remember when I got that acceptance letter from Blackwell, the first thing I thought was, yes, I’m in! And then, shit, what do I say to Chloe when I see her again? So, I cheated. I hid behind her girlfriend when we saw each other again, so she couldn’t be as mad as wanted to be. I know, I know, that was low, but Rachel was offering protection! How could I refuse?_

 

_So, my evil plan worked and Chloe and I are okay now! Well, we’re still a little awkward, but we’re working on it, and Rachel has been awesome, and now, we’re a trio. Today, I got to see Joyce again and eat her delicious food. God, I missed Joyce’s cooking so much. I wonder if I can have dinner at the Price house every night. I don’t think they’d mind, I mean, Rachel’s there all the time! Then again, I’m not Chloe’s girlfriend, but come on, best friend has to have perks! Well, okay, I’m still trying to get back to best friend status, so I’ll complain when I get there._

_The Price household has two new members. David Madsen, Joyce’s new husband, is actually the head of security at Blackwell. He’s a bit intense, but he’s a cool guy, and it’s great to see that he and Chloe get along. They’re both gearheads, pretty sure they worked together on that muscle car I saw in the garage, and they like fixing stuff around the house. It shows, too, the place looks great, and it has that nice, homey touch. Guess Chloe took after William’s handiness._

_The second new Price is a dog named Pompidou. Chloe said he used to belong to a friend who had to move away and couldn’t afford to take him along. She also said Pompidou used to be a fighting dog and his previous owner saved him. Hard to believe he was a fighting dog, he’s the sweetest thing ever! I wish Bongo got to meet him. I’m glad Chloe has a pet again, I know she’s always wanted a dog. Maybe she’ll get another cat so Pompidou can have a friend._

 

_Rachel Amber. If there was one word to sum her up, it’d be wowser. That girl is perfect and I am not even kidding. She aces all her classes, she’s friggin’ talented, she’s the one who designed that cool ouroboros sleeve tat Chloe has on her left arm, and she’s good in sports. It’s like she’ll be good at anything she tries! On top of all that, she’s so pretty. So pretty. She’s gorgeous. Did I mention she’s stunningly, unbelievably gorgeous? And if that’s not enough, she’s also the nicest girl I’ve ever met. The other day, Victoria Chase was picking on poor Kate Marsh for her abstinence club and Rachel stepped in there like a boss and had Victoria scurrying away like a rat. It was so awesome to see. I’m glad Rachel isn’t like Victoria and those elitist assholes from the Vortex Club. Actually, Rachel and Chloe are too cool for the Vortex Club. That probably drives Victoria crazy._

_Speaking of Vortex Club and crazy, there’s Nathan Prescott, the apex asshole of Blackwell. He’s like Victoria’s evil-er twin brother! Apparently, his family practically owns the school and just about the whole town, too! So, of course he acts like he really does own the place and gets away with stupid shit like selling drugs to other students and picking fights left and right. I bet his record is spotless even with all the crap he pulls. What bullshit. Oh, and he totally wants Rachel. He isn’t even bothering to hide it, and it’s so creepy. It really freaks Rachel out, too, she’s always extra clingy to Chloe whenever he’s nearby. He gets so pissed when he sees them together. As if he even has a chance with her._

 

_I don’t know how long Chloe and Rachel have been together, but I’ve known them for a month and they’re still in that honeymoon phase where they can’t keep their hands off each other. And they don’t even care if I’m there! The crazy thing is, I’m starting to get used to it. Does that make me a perv or the most amazing best friend ever? I’m not sure._

_They are super cute, though. They even have nicknames for each other. Chloe calls Rachel Angel every now and then, and I’ve heard Rachel call Chloe Ellie a couple of times. Guess she got Ellie from Elizabeth. I like it, it even rhymes with Chloe! And it suits her better than Liz or Beth or something._

_Anyway, it’s so obvious they’re in love, and I guess any couple who’s been through as much as they have would be like that. I don’t know all the details, but seems like, until a couple of months ago, Chloe and Rachel were pretty crazy, like Vortex Club get high and party crazy, and it just kept getting worse. So, they both decided to get clean and Rachel said it was one of the hardest things she had to do in her life and she couldn’t have done it without Chloe. What they went through sounds like the kind of thing that makes two people inseparable. I’m happy for them both, it’s so nice to see Chloe smile and laugh like when we were kids._

 

_Chloe. My best friend. I’m pretty sure I’ve earned the right to call her that again. She gave me William’s camera for my birthday! If that doesn’t mean best friend then I don’t know what does. I mean, I didn’t even want to accept a gift like that, because that’s, like, such a big piece of William she’s giving to me, but she insisted, and when she said it’d be better used awesomely than not at all, well, how could I say no?_

_Anyway, Chloe. Can you say punk? What a change. 5’9, blue hair, tattoos and piercings, which includes a tongue piercing, by the way. Rachel told me that. And then she winked at me. I think all the blood went to my face when she did that._

_I mean, it’s bad enough to be consciously aware of how hot my best friend is, it’s another to have her also hot girlfriend telling me these things and putting these images in my head! Rachel’s just showing off now. Not everyone can have a girlfriend who’s enough of a bad girl to fulfill all those crazy teenage girl fantasies but is actually this responsible, caring sweetheart who does well at school, has a job and helps around the house. And she builds cars. And she’s hot, hella hot. And she’s ripped because, damn, she’s an exercise freak now like her veteran stepdad and my Lord, it shows, and not in that overly muscular way, she’s ripped in that sleek, slender, feminine way that is just so--- so..._

_Fuck, I’m ogling my best friend, my best friend! Who has a girlfriend, whom she loves so much they’re probably going to get married out of high school, and here I am swooning and… and being jealous._

_I’m happy for them. They’re my best friends, both of them, and I hope they’ll be as in love years from now as they are now, but sometimes I just… I just wonder, you know? I wonder what it’d be like if I hadn’t moved to Seattle. Would Chloe have met Rachel? Would Chloe and I have… would we be..._

_I don’t know. I’ll never know._

 

Max looked up from the journal page and closed her eyes, the latest entry she read making her feel winded. The others were fine, like reading about the experiences of an entirely different person, but as she read every adoring, heartbreaking thing written about Chloe, all she could seem to see was Chloe, standing in the rain with her, scared but ready to die, looking at her with nothing but love.

She had decided to let Chloe die, and didn’t have the sense to tell her she loved her, to actually say the words and not just with a kiss.

Was this her karma? To live in a world where Chloe was happy without her?

She thought of Rachel running to Chloe and kissing her, of Chloe, David and Joyce being a family, how perfect her life seemed to be. Then she thought of what happened that morning in the bathroom, of the girl who had beaten up and threatened to cripple Nathan Prescott, of the girl who handled a gun like she knew exactly what she was doing, of the girl, her best friend, who looked ready to gun her down.

Max hugged herself, shuddering as she remembered the way Chloe looked at her before recognizing her.

Would Chloe have pulled the trigger if it had been anyone but her or Rachel? It seemed like it would have been so easy, so effortless, like how she laughed and joked in the bathroom while Nathan bled on the floor. It was a far cry from the girl with the half-baked idea to extort Nathan Prescott and ended up getting shot.

What else had Chloe had done and no one had seen? What else was she capable of?

Max rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling. She and Chloe didn’t get the chance to talk after dinner because Rachel had other plans, joking that best friend time was over and girlfriend time was now. Max hadn’t seen or heard from either of them since, and she doubted she would now that it was 2 AM.

She skimmed her journal one last time, running a few questions in her head. Was Nathan not involved with Jefferson this time? Was that why Rachel was safe? Did she and Frank ever get together? What had happened to Frank? It was hard to believe he would leave Pompidou behind for anything.

It was going to be a lot harder to figure this all out by herself, especially since she didn’t have her powers anymore. She hadn’t realized how much she relied on her rewind before, how it was so easy to be brave and bold because she could erase the mistakes and the consequences.

This time, she had no redos, no takebacks, and no Chloe.

Max rolled back on her stomach, ending up face to face with a journal page of Chloe doodles. It wasn’t quite her Chloe, the pages decorated with wrenches, gears, and skateboards instead of cigarettes, beer bottles and weed. Her gaze then drifted to the bedside table, where William’s instant camera sat, and she smiled fondly. It wasn’t quite her Chloe, she thought, but not all of her had changed.

“Max? You still awake?”

Max nearly shot out of her bed, startled by the knocking and whispering from the other side of the door.

“Max?”

Recognizing the voice, Max quickly hid her journal and opened the door.

“Chloe? What are you---” she stopped in the middle of her question, noticing that her best friend was wearing nothing but a tank and a pair of boxers. “Did you… did you sneak in the dorm like that?”

Chloe gave her a look, appearing to wonder if she was serious.

“I came from Rachel’s room, duh? Now are you gonna lemme in or not? I really don’t feel like giving the rest of your dorm a show.”

“Oh. Oh, yeah,” Max mumbled, mentally cursing at herself for forgetting something she had just read about earlier. “Sorry, I was kind of trying to sleep,” she lied, stepping aside to let Chloe in and closing the door. “What’s with the sans clothes look, anyway?”

“No way to get my pants without waking Rachel up,” Chloe said, taking a seat on her bed and looking very much at home.

Max studied her best friend, unable to stop herself from comparing. Chloe’s shoulders were broader than she remembered, her arms more toned and defined. The ouroboros tattoo on her left arm looked alarmingly similar to the shirt her Chloe had been wearing the last time she saw her, except more colorful. Lastly, the necklace she was wearing was Rachel’s dragon necklace, not the bullet necklace Max herself had worn in the wake of her Chloe’s last death, because that was with Rachel.

“Dude, you’re spacing again,” Chloe grumbled, snapping her out of it.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, hoping her lie still held. “So, um, what are you doing here?”

“I told you we’d talk,” Chloe said like it wasn’t 2 AM and she hadn’t snuck out from her girlfriend. “So, let’s talk. I’m gonna start it off with the cliche you really don’t wanna get involved bullshit. Seriously, you don’t wanna get involved.”

Max sighed, not surprised by the statement, and plopped down next to Chloe.

“Come on, Chloe. Talk to me. Like, actually talk to me. You promised.”

It was Chloe’s turn to sigh.

“Nosey as ever.”

“And your best friend,” Max was happy to point out, and then paused, wondering out loud, “wait, does Rachel know?”

Chloe looked at her like she had just told a bad joke.

“Max, I just had to fuck my girlfriend until she passed out so I could sneak into your room at 2 in the freakin’ AM, what’d ya think?”

“Alright, I get it. God, spare me the details,” Max groaned, needing to use little imagination given what she had already seen today. “And quit trying to change the subject.”

“Look, she doesn’t need to know, okay?” Chloe said, shrugging. “Neither do you, like I’ve been saying, ‘cause this whole thing’s gonna be over soon, so you really should just get it out of your head.”

“Chloe, this is serious,” Max argued, grabbing Chloe’s face to make their eyes meet. “You’re messing with the Prescotts!” she whispered fiercely, mindful to keep her voice down, but wanting to yell at her best friend in some capacity. “You know what kind of shit they can pull and get away with, are you really going to risk your neck like that?”

“Fuck his family, I own them,” Chloe growled lowly, showing a flash of the side she had shown in the bathroom. “Prescott knows not to run to his fucking dad for this. Even if he does, the dirt I have is going to ruin his family.”

“What do you have? What do you know?” Max pressed, and when Chloe tried to look away, she held firmer, keeping their eyes locked. “Chloe, what is it? Did… did Nathan do something to you?” she asked, her voice breaking as she remembered the pictures of her best friend in Nathan’s room. “You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?”

There was a long pause before Chloe spoke.

“Fuck, you’re stubborn.”

Max nodded, giving in to the temptation of threading her fingers through Chloe’s hair.

“You know it.”

Chloe looked at her, and for a moment she felt like they were caught in the storm again.

“Promise me not tell anyone? Not even Rachel. Especially not Rachel. Promise me, Max.”

“I swear,” Max was quick to say, barely stopping herself from leaning in and kissing Chloe.

“Okay,” Chloe breathed, gently pulling away from her, seeming to need space. “You know that shit with Mark Jefferson, right? I mean, that sick fuck could have been your teacher if they hadn’t caught him.”

“I am so glad Rachel is okay,” Max said without thinking, one of the things she was most thankful for in this life.

“Yeah,” Chloe agreed, her voice shaking. “Makes me sick to think Rachel had been in the same room as the piece of shit. I’m glad you didn’t meet him at all, Max. But, yeah,” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. “Jefferson… he wasn’t working alone. Prescott was helping him, and I have proof. Files, pictures, fucking phone calls on record, you name it, I have it. Even got the address of a bunker that fucker used to do his sick shit and it’s under the Prescott name. I go to the cops, that family’s done.”

“What--- I don’t...” Max trailed off, out of breath all of a sudden, just the mention of Jefferson’s bunker sending an overwhelming deluge of memories she struggled to fight off. “How do you have all that?” she managed to ask, seeing Jefferson’s sickening face whenever she blinked, and then she gasped, fearing the worst. “Chloe---”

“Max,” Chloe cut her off, an edge in her voice, “I don’t want to talk about it. Okay? I don’t. I won’t. So, don’t bother, alright? Just know that I have shit on the Prescotts, and I’m getting something out of it.”

Was this the reason Rachel was alive? Had Chloe been taken in her place?

Max desperately wished she had her powers back.

“You could go straight to the police, Chloe,” she said, her hands finding Chloe’s and grasping tight. “Why go through all this? What do you want from the Prescotts?”

Chloe scoffed, like she should have already known.

“Hella cash, duh, Max. What else would anyone want from a rich ass douchebag and his douchebag family?”

“But why?” Max asked, determined to know, rewind power or not. “What do you need all that money for? Are you in trouble, Chloe? Do you have like a... like a debt or something? Because whatever it is, you almost shot me for it!” she hurriedly added, covering the slip up. “You brought a gun, Chloe, you were expecting shit to go that bad? And you looked like you knew exactly what you were doing, and you were… you were beating the shit out of him like it was nothing.”

“Hey, hey,” Chloe hushed her, pulling her in a hug. “Chill, okay? I’m sorry. Shit, I’m so sorry, Max. Here I am all worried about myself and I didn’t even think how much I was freaking you out. I was just acting tough, you know? The gun, the safety was on, I’ve picked up a few things from David, and I had my own gun because I had a feeling Prescott was going to pull some stupid crap. He didn’t know he was meeting me, so I got the jump on him. Good thing, too, because the fucker was probably planning to kill me.”

Max only nodded and buried her face in the crook of Chloe’s neck, which smelled like Rachel’s vanilla and rose scented perfume instead of cigarette smoke. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Chloe had no idea how right she was about Nathan.

“And the beating?” Chloe went on, “That was to make sure he wouldn’t try it again. Backing up the tough talk, you know?”

Max had seen Chloe, her Chloe, act tough, and it was all teenage bravado and boneheaded, charming recklessness, nothing like the confident, frighteningly calm and methodical girl she had seen in the bathroom.

“I’ll get rid of the guns, no one will find them, and I’m gonna burn the bloody clothes and the bag, leave no trace,” Chloe said, sounding like she was reading from a grocery list. “I got this, I told you. And everything else, I’m gonna have to ask you to trust me, Max.”

Did Chloe have a debt, just with another dealer? Was she ashamed to say because she was supposed to be clean now?

“I trust you, Chloe,” she whispered against her best friend’s neck, and again she felt so small with those strong arms wrapped around her. “Just please be careful, and… if you need any help, or if you want to talk, remember I’m always here for you,” she said, bringing her arms around Chloe to hug her back, and though it wasn’t that big of a difference from her Chloe, the broader, more muscular body felt a little too much to hold.

“You’re hella super, Max,” Chloe murmured, and Max could tell she was smiling. “Okay, I gotta get going before Rachel wakes up, and you should get some sleep.”

“Yeah, I should,” Max agreed, reluctantly pulling away so they could both stand, and walked Chloe to the door.

“Oh, did you hear about the weird shit that happened today?” Chloe asked, stopping by her doorway.

“You’re gonna have to elaborate on that,” Max teased, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hah. Funny,” Chloe responded in approval, giving her a smirk. “Anyway, smartass, don’t know how we missed it, but apparently, it fucking snowed today. 90 degrees and it snowed! Crazy shit, right?”

Max braced herself against the door, feeling like she had been punched in the gut.

She must have said something in response, because Chloe hugged her again, and she welcomed the distraction. It was nothing like the hugs she had grown so familiar with and so fond of. She was used to Chloe throwing herself in a hug like she threw caution to the wind, trusting she could hold her, but with this hug, she was pulled in and held. This Chloe was aware, of her weight, of her strength, of herself.

But like her Chloe, she was gone too soon, letting her go and returning to Rachel.

Snow, Max was left thinking. It snowed today. The storm, it was still coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to PriestessAmy for letting us use a title similar to her Rachel is Here fic, and also for making us fall in love with Amberprice, which she writes with more finesse than we could ever hope to have.


	2. The Shadows Cast by Rachel Amber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On warnings: we're assuming interested readers have played the game or are familiar enough with it to know what to expect.

_“This angle highlights your purity, see? The slightly unconscious model is often the most open and honest. No vanity or posing, just… pure expression. Oh, Christ, look at that perfect face.”_

_Click._

_“Hold that stare there! Stay still.”_

_Click._

_Click._

_“Oh, Max! You fucked up my shot! But please don’t worry, we have all the time in the world. For now.”_

_Click._

_Click._

_Click._

_“Wait, wait… let me guess… you fucked up time and space for your precious punk Chloe.”_

_“You think she’s worth all that?”_

Max woke up with a start, jerking up and hunching over like she had been held under water. She clutched at her chest with both hands, feeling her heart race, and then recoiled to look at her wrists.

No duct tape, she wasn’t bound.

Her hands were clean, no grass, soil or Rachel Amber stuck under her fingernails.

She wasn’t in the dark room with Jefferson and his cameras and his needles. She wasn’t in the diner full of people telling her the storm was her all her fault. She wasn’t at the lighthouse with Chloe, taking the butterfly picture from her and agreeing to let her die.

With a long, shuddering breath, Max finally looked up and let her dorm room come into focus. It looked just like it did the last Tuesday she had lived through, missing only the post-its, books and DVDs about time bending. In their place was the presence of Rachel Amber, alive and in love with Chloe Price, changing the ambience of her room through just a few pictures. It made perfect sense that the girl whose death had such an impact would be more radiant in life.

Max checked the time, feeling like she hadn’t slept at all, and saw that she had actually woken up late. She found a more suitable place for her journal, made her bed and grabbed her toiletries. Her room less a mess without the time power research, she quickly noticed the copy of The October Country Kate had lent her.

Kate would want that back, she remembered, and then she inhaled sharply, overcome with memories of Kate on the roof.

Forgetting about her own hangups, Max rushed out the door and went straight to Kate’s room, filled with surprise and hope when she heard the violin music from the other side. She held her hand up to knock, stopping when she saw that Kate’s slate wasn’t vandalized, instead containing an inspiring bible passage.

After several knocks, the music stopped and Kate answered, giving her a smile that could light up a room.

“Max, hi!”

Unable to help herself, Max rushed to her friend and hugged her. She took a quick look around the tidy room, seeing the curtains pulled back to let the light in and a stack of Kate’s cute, colorful drawings on the desk.

“Are you okay, Max?” Kate asked sweetly, always concerned about her.

“I am,” Max said, smiling when Kate returned her hug despite being confused. “I just really missed you, that’s all.”

Kate laughed, a sound Max didn’t know she had missed so much.

“I missed you, too. Maybe we should have a tea date sometime?”

“It’s a date!” Max exclaimed, laughing with Kate.

“You’re so happy this morning,” Kate remarked, finally breaking the hug to look at her but still held her arms. “Did you get some good news recently?”

“No, I just…” Max trailed off, smiling like a goof. “I’m just really glad we’re friends, Kate.”

Kate smiled back, the kind of pure, happy smile she never thought she would see again. She had last seen Kate at the hospital, recovering and being strong, but still not quite herself, not quite like the girl she was holding right now.

“I’m glad, too, Max,” Kate said, and then seemed to remember something. “Oh, do you still have my copy of October Country?”

“I do. Do you need it?” Max asked, and Kate nodded as she had expected. “I can bring it by after I hit the showers. Or do you need it now?”

“I can wait, Max,” Kate assured her pleasantly, looking very amused with her eagerness.

“Okay,” she said, not caring how silly she must seem to Kate. “Say hi to Alice for me!”

Max waved at Kate and continued down the hall, stopping when she saw Dana exit her own room and enter another, one with its door open and labeled 224.

Room 224, Rachel’s room, she remembered from her nightmare.

“Max?” Dana called, her head popping out of the room. “Hey, look who’s finally up!” she announced, sounding like she was talking to more than one person.

Beckoned, Max bypassed the showers and stepped into Rachel’s room, finding Rachel herself with Dana and Juliet. Rachel, wearing what was obviously Chloe’s jacket over her sleepwear, beamed upon seeing her and got up to hug her.

“‘Morning, sleepyhead!” Rachel greeted her cheerfully. “I was waiting for you to wake up. Did you stay up late last night or something?”

“Kind of,” Max mumbled, distracted by the smell of Chloe on the jacket.

She took the chance to look around Rachel’s room, finding it as vibrant and multifaceted as Rachel herself, and at the center of it all was Chloe, just like the bullet necklace caught between their hearts right now.

“Good thing we don’t have classes early,” Rachel said, giggling, “but we should get ready.”

“Where are you guys going?” Dana asked.

“Stringing Max along for another date?” Juliet joked.

Rachel let her go and sauntered back to her bed, playfully swatting Juliet on the way.

“We don’t string her along, and we’re taking Chloe’s folks to the airport, if you must know, you snoop. It’s gonna be great, Max. David’s letting Chloe drive the muscle car!”

“That’s exciting for you, driving your girlfriend’s folks to the airport?” Juliet asked, shaking her head. “God, Rachel, you’re so married to her already.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Dana said, swatting Juliet for Rachel.

Rachel hugged Dana appreciatively and sat back on her bed, sticking her tongue out childishly at Juliet. Max sat next to Rachel and smiled at the three of them, finding the exchange cute. She was glad to see that Dana and Juliet didn’t seem to be part of the Vortex Club.

As though summoned by her thoughts, Victoria Chase came marching into Rachel’s room, Taylor and Courtney at her heels.

“You, Amber,” Victoria snapped. “I know you had your girlfriend spend the night again. Just because you’re little miss perfect doesn’t mean you can get away with shit like this.”

Rachel smiled sweetly at Victoria.

“Rules say no boys allowed. Last I checked, Chloe’s a girl.”

“She’s actually right, Victoria,” Courtney pointed out, so quietly it was almost a whisper.

“What?” Victoria barked, whirling around in a rage. “Are you fucking serious right now? What decade are these rules from! And why the hell didn’t you tell me? You’re useless!”

As quickly as she came, Victoria stormed out, Courtney trailing after her and begging forgiveness.

“Taylor,” Rachel called before the blonde could follow, “keep me posted on your mom, okay?”

“I will,” Taylor murmured, smiling slightly. “Thanks, Rachel.”

When Taylor left, Rachel stood up, and Max felt herself being pulled to her feet.

“C’mon, Max, let’s hit the showers! I want to see my baby.”

“So married,” Juliet sang, but it was a playful tease. “And, hey, don’t forget! You owe me an interview. Alone! You’re completely useless when Chloe’s around!”

This time, Dana didn’t come to Rachel’s defense, instead agreeing by laughing quietly.

“Ugh, fine, whatever,” Rachel grumbled, and tugged Max out of the room.

* * *

Toiletries and extra clothing in hand, Max followed her anxious friend into the quiet shower room.

It appeared empty, which Max was grateful for, but even as she stepped in after her, Rachel stooped and checked the first shower underneath the curtain.

She proceeded to do this with every stall down the line.

Max quirked her head curiously until Rachel turned and gave her a smile. “We’re all clear,” she said. “Nobody’s here, Max. Don’t worry.”

Max shook her head, touched and amazed that her friend was so intuitive and sweet. Rachel had that awe factor about her: everywhere she went, people noticed it, noticed her, and could see how incredible she was. It wasn’t just her beauty, which was unmatched but for Chloe; but it was in the very way she held herself, like royalty, and in the way she talked to people, always kind and gentle with this tone that just tore straight into the heart of things. Every move she made had a definitive purpose, it seemed.

Max didn’t know anybody quite like her, and as she set aside her spare clothes and entered a shower stall to undress, it was all she could think about.

All of it felt surreal. How did one beautiful, clever girl make such a world of difference?

Rachel had no supernatural powers, but she seemed to touch everyone at Blackwell. Kate was doing better because of her; she was happy with friends, not bullied, and in no danger of it. Dana and Juliet seemed closer than ever, to the point that they trusted each other over third party accusations, and without rewinding, even shy little Max had become good friends with those friendly, popular girls.

Most of all: Chloe. Chloe was so different. She had gotten her life together and taken such a healthy turn, not just physically, but with her family, her friends, her grades, they all reflected it. She seemed happy.

Max was so lost in thought about it, she didn’t even hear the curtain open until Rachel said, “Hey, Max.”

Max started and turned to face her, finding Rachel Amber standing in the curtained doorway of her shower.

And she was naked. Beautiful, stunningly naked.

Her body was wet and glistened from it, highlighting every perfect curve and bump that Max had only seen through clothes before, and by God, was she perfect. Her skin was smooth and flawless, allowing the droplets to easily slide down her body, unhindered by hair or grooves. She had blemishes, but they were made by Chloe and did not take away from her beauty at all.

Max’s eyes went everywhere: from the perfect, luscious curve of her hips to the flat, bitten and bruised stomach, to the blue belly ring in her navel, all the way down those silky legs.

“Max,” Rachel said loudly and touched her shoulder, bringing Max’s eyes upwards with the alarming realization that she had only been admiring half of Rachel, and that there was more.

Rachel laughed, and it lit up every flawless feature in her face, especially her eyes. “Did you even hear me?”

“No,” Max said, not even processing that she shouldn’t.

Rachel Amber was gorgeous from head to toe.

Rachel smiled at her, and it felt like she had reached heaven. “Well, if you’re done staring, can I borrow your soap?” she asked, eyes twinkling. “I was in such a rush, I left mine in my room.”

“Oh…” Max said, because it was all she could muster. She looked away to grab her unopened toiletry bag, but turned back quickly, feeling the loss, which was when her sightline momentarily met Rachel’s bruised, studded, and pierced breasts.

Max dropped the toiletry bag.

“Wowser,” she whispered, completely unable to help herself.

Rachel smiled and shook her head. “I’ll get it,” she said, starting to bend for the bag.

“No!” Max blurted, frantic, and dove for the toiletries.

She couldn’t contain herself admiring just one side of Rachel. She didn’t need her friend’s glorious and bare back also imprinted into her head.

She grabbed it up in trembling fingers and fumbled to pull the soap out of the bag.

Unfortunately, when she stood, it was to obtain another eyeful of those curvaceous, swollen breasts on the way up, and Rachel’s smile provided no relief for the heat in her body and face.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, barely able to speak.

“You’re so cute, Max. Reminds me of when Chloe was like that,” Rachel said. She took the soap from her, leaned in, and kissed her burning cheek. “Thanks, sweetie. I’ll pop back in to give it back in a minute,” she teased, winking, and closed the curtain before she left.

Max groped for the shower knob and turned it on icy cold before she had even undressed.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Max had showered and dressed. She picked up Kate’s copy of The October Country and headed out the door, finding Rachel already waiting at the far end of the hall.

“Just one second!” she called to her friend, going to Kate’s room, and pushed open the door without knocking, rushing because she knew Rachel was waiting on her. “Kate,” she greeted, entering the bright and decorated room.

Kate looked up from the floor where she, Stella, and Alyssa were hovering over a drawing. She smiled again upon seeing her.

“Hey, Max.”

“I’m just returning your book,” Max said, holding up the book in question before placing it on Kate’s dresser by the door. “I gotta run out,” she said, wary of making her anxious friend wait any longer.

“Okay! Thanks, Max!” Kate said with a friendly wave as Max disappeared, shutting the door behind her.

Max hurried over to Rachel apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, Rachel. Ready to go?”

Rachel held the door for her, and together, they left the dormitories, finding the day outside to be bright and sunny with a blue sky overhead.

“Chloe said she’s at the main campus building,” Rachel said and led the way.

Max followed her through the campus, silently noting how friendly everyone along the way was. Hayden waved to them, and Logan even stopped tossing his football around to let them pass before resuming his play. Even Luke, who never talked to anyone, looked up and gave them a passing greeting as he headed back to the dorms.

Max wasn’t used to being so noticed around the school. It was just like what Chloe had told her half a lifetime ago: Rachel got along with everybody at this school. Victoria excluded, that was, but even her groupies seemed friendly to her.

“Woohoo!” a sudden shout caught her attention, making Max turn to the source. She heard the skateboard before she saw it, listened to it grind along a metal pole, and then she saw the source.

In an incredibly well-cut sleeveless tank top that was made to show off lean and lanky, muscled arms, the sun beamed down on the blue-haired skater wearing a beanie in the midst of summer, and it illumined her. Her tank top hung loosely over a stretched torso, and her long jeans hugged her skinny ass perfectly.

Max forgot everything, stopped, and stared.

She wanted to be those jeans.

Chloe reached the end of the rail and jumped off, popping up the board and flipped it 180 degrees and then smoothly landed it. One long, lean and beautiful leg reached out to pump her skateboard further, and Max realized there was nothing in the world that she would rather see.

As Chloe rode, she smiled, and it lit up her whole face, warming Max to her bones. Pretty blue eyes were full of joy and laughter, and when they turned towards her, Max swore she could have died.

“Chloe,” she mumbled, watching the flexing of that corded body with every new stunt she pulled.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Rachel said from beside her, but the word didn’t fit. No word did. Nothing could even hope to describe what Max was seeing right now.

And then, she came closer, and Max stopped breathing for a little while.

Chloe rounded the corner of the big block towards them. She rolled past Max and winked, and then effortlessly rolled up to Rachel, extending a hand to her girlfriend’s cheek, and kissed her as she skidded to a halt on the board. Stepping off it, mid-kiss, she stomped on the back of her board, flipping it up into her free arm, and proceeded to wrap Rachel into a full hug as they made out.

Max stared. She stared as Chloe’s pink, studded tongue came out, and stared when Rachel’s hands dropped to her girlfriend’s fine little ass. Even watched Rachel’s hand dip into those lucky jeans as she pulled Chloe in close, not aware of anything but each other.

“Whoa,” Justin said from somewhere nearby, and Max finally looked away to see Chloe’s skater friends on the grass a few feet away, having enthusiastically followed their friend.

Trevor and the other boy had looked away politely, but Justin was staring with wide, astonished eyes.

Max frowned and moved in front of her friends, clearing her throat pointedly, and Justin finally got the picture when Trevor nudged him.

“Oh,” he said as if waking up from a dream. He turned away with one last glance back at them.

That prick. Who said he could look at them?

Max was tempted to give him a piece of her mind, and she stepped towards him to do so, but then realized the picture of Rachel and skater Chloe kissing was imprinted into her mind. It was there, because she had been staring at Chloe since the second she had seen her on that board.

Max stopped and bit her lip.

Had she looked that stupid?

“Chloe,” Rachel murmured, and it was so sexual, Max feared they might have lost their clothes. She glanced back and saw them interlocked, still clothed, but in great danger of rectifying that problem within the next few seconds.

“Rachel, Chloe!” Max blurted, hurrying towards them, not wanting anyone else to see.

It took Chloe’s pretty eyes a full thirty seconds to recognize her. “Max?” she asked, seeming hard-pressed to focus, and the with the way Rachel was kissing up her neck, biting a bruised spot on it, Max couldn’t really blame her.

“We have an appointment, remember?” Max said, putting herself between them as much as she could. She didn’t really reach either of them with that, so she tried again. “Your mom and David, Chloe. We gotta get them to the airport.”

“Later, Max,” Chloe grunted, closing her eyes as Rachel bit her particularly hard.

Trevor and his skater friends had politely started to mosey off, but Chloe and Rachel were getting some attention from others.

“They’ll miss their flight,” she tried to reason with them, feeling pretty hopeless, but from some unexplained miracle, this seemed to reach Chloe. She opened her eyes and put her hands on Rachel’s shoulders.

“Babe,” she said, looking truly regretful as she gently pushed Rachel back from the shoulders. “Max is right.”

“They can wait five minutes,” Rachel said, clinging to her, unwilling to let go.

“We’ve never taken five minutes,” Chloe said and pulled Rachel off her, who looked as if she had just lost a child. “Later, Angel,” Chloe promised. “I’ll make it up to you.”

For a long moment, Max was afraid she might start to cry, but when Chloe didn’t relent, she rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder with a shaky sigh.

“Okay, Ellie,” she said, and Max felt like she was witnessing something extremely private. Not that either of her friends seemed to care, but it almost felt sacred.

Rachel took a long moment to regroup, and then regaining her usual confident tone, she said. “You better.”

Chloe rubbed her back until she was ready to straighten herself, and then she didn’t let go as she looked around them, spotting Max. “You ready to go, Max?”

“Uh-huh,” Max said, because syllables were very hard in the wake of watching these two.

As they started to walk, Max stared at the ground, finally looking away from the romantic couple. Between Rachel invading her shower stall in the nude and Chloe bringing her skater girl fantasies to life, Max stood no chance.

* * *

Max tagged along, wheeling one of Joyce’ luggage bags behind her as they wove through the airport, weaving through a mass of people to find their gate, and then they passed through two sets of security. Chloe and Rachel set both of them off, and Chloe stuck her studded tongue out childishly, which resulted in a full body pat down and scan from an officer, but they eventually found themselves at the right gate at the right time, about a half hour before the plane was due to leave.

“Well, girls,” Joyce said, standing in the small waiting room with all her carry-on luggage as other passengers slowly shuffled through the long hallway into the plane. “This is where we must part. It’s a shame the cruise was only for two and not the whole family. I would have loved for us all to go.”

“Aw, Mom, don’t you get enough of us already?” Chloe complained.

“We’re just worried,” David said in that stiff tone of his. “All this weird shit’s been going on in Arcadia Bay: first, that prick Jefferson, and now it’s snowing in 90 degree weather.”

“Come on, man,” Chloe said in a reprimanding tone. “We’ll be fine! You just worry about giving Mom the honeymoon you never got to have.”

“Oh, Chloe,” her mother gushed. Leaving her bag on the ground, she opened up her arms and embraced her daughter. “I’m so proud of you, my baby,” she said in a hushed tone. “You’ve made such a wonderful change these past few months. I’m so proud.”

Chloe tucked her head into Joyce’s shoulder and hugged her back. “I know, Mom,” she said, sounding somber now. “I tried for you.”

“I love you, Chloe,” Joyce said, not letting her go.

Chloe was silent a moment, and when she did speak, she sounded uncharacteristically emotional. “Love you, too, Mom.”

As the two embraced, David looked at them and said, “keep my soldier out of trouble.”

“She doesn’t need our help for that,” Rachel said as the mother and daughter finally separated from each other. When Chloe pulled back, she was smiling and chipper again.

Joyce came over to hug her and Rachel before she went.

“Take care of Mom, David,” Max heard Chloe say, giving her step father an affirmative nod. “And don’t call us! The next two weeks are yours!”

Joyce gave her a look. “We’re going to call, Chloe.”

“I won’t answer!” Chloe quipped, light of spirit again. “Bye, Mom, David!” she said as Joyce shook her head, giving her daughter a heartwarming smile.

“We’ll miss you, Chloe,” she said, picking up her bags.

They departed, waving one last time before entering the ramp to board the plane, and Chloe turned back to her and Rachel.

“We’ve got some spare time. Wanna hang out at our spot for a bit?” she casually asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Rachel said, and Max nodded quietly, fearfully remembering Rachel Amber buried in the dirt of that place. Not just Rachel, but Chloe as well, lying there, dead and growing cold as she bled out over Rachel’s grave.

Max tried to breathe evenly, not giving herself away, but with every step they took, getting closer to that junkyard, her fears multiplied.

She coached herself, repeating it over and over again in her head.

As long as she stayed close to Chloe, she would be okay.

* * *

Chloe pulled up into a small patch of grass among the dense thicket of trees. She killed the engine and hopped out of her side of the car and held the door for Rachel to slide out her side of the truck.

On the other side of the truck, Max let herself out and looked around her new surroundings in wonder.

Mountainous trees surrounded them, thickly packed together and lush, towering over them at great heights that reached up into the blue sky like arching fingers. Birds, rodents, and animals chittered all around them; Max saw a small family of deer just a few yards from where they had parked, and above, an eagle soared, screeching as it passed on by. The air was fresh, and the temperature, cool.

It was nothing like the dirty, rundown junkyard she and Chloe had gone to as their secret place. Where the junkyard held crusted and forgotten bits of man-made machines, the forest was pure and clean. The air smelled of mother nature, and no one had polluted the area, not with anything. She didn’t even see trash littering the ground, they had reached such a quiet and peaceful area.

Max doubled back and grabbed the camera Chloe had given her out of the car.

“Max, hurry up!” Chloe called out to her from the other side of the car, near the forest’s edge.

“I’m coming!” Max said, shutting the car door behind her. She hurried off after her friends, who entered the tree thicket and followed a path they seemed to have memorized, because there was no trail leading them.

All around Max, nature pulsed with life and warmth. They were shaded by the tall fir trees, which seemed to make up a great majority of the forest, but other species cropped up here and there, adding a bit of color and variety to the various shades of green.

As they tread over large rocks and fallen trucks amidst the brambles that commonly littered the forest floor, they came upon one spot in particular that was beautiful: a single maple tree stood among a row of towering, green firs, and it had prematurely lost its pigments. The color was magnificent against the backdrop of greenery.

“Wait,” Max called out to her friends, pausing to lift her camera and take the shot. She couldn’t stop thinking about how very different this secluded place was from the junkyard. Everything was serene.

“That one again?” Chloe asked her with a shake of her head as she caught up to them.

Max realized her error and could have smacked herself. Of course, if she thought something was picture worthy now, she would have thought the same thing before. She would have to be careful and check out her photos in this world before jumping on every pretty little thing.

She tried to play it off. “Can never have too many pictures.”

Chloe shook her head, and Rachel smiled faintly. “This is why you’re going to be a famous photographer one day, Max,” she said kindly, and the trio continued their journey through the thick forest for a little longer until they came upon a small sort of clearing that led to a jutting ledge hanging over a glistening lake that stretched on for miles as far as the eye could see.

It was breathtaking, and Max had to remind herself not to voice her awe aloud because this was not the first time she would have seen it.

“Not gonna swim today. I’m exhausted,” Chloe said, yawning.

“That’s okay, Ellie,” Rachel murmured, stroking the skater’s side. “I worked you pretty hard last night. Here, come lay with me.”

“I thought I did that to you,” Chloe said, and Rachel giggled.

They moved to a large tree trunk that sat a ways back from the edge of the cliff. It was enormous: even bigger and more grand than the one in the picture Max had just taken, and they seated themselves, Rachel sitting with her back to the trunk and Chloe laid at her side. She closed her eyes to sleep.

Just above Rachel’s head where she had chosen to sit, Max saw familiar words carved into the tree.

_Chloe was here._

_Rachel was here._

_Max was here._

Her stomach dropped, remembering the morbid inscriptions Jefferson had written over their names with, and she suddenly felt sickly.

Max sat down quickly, facing the cliff, not wanting to draw attention to herself. She looked over the edge at the blue water, taking in the gorgeous view in an effort to forget.

She wasn’t there anymore. She didn’t live in that reality. Jefferson had been caught and imprisoned; he couldn’t hurt her or anyone anymore.

She repeated the words to herself until her heart stopped racing and her eyes had cleared. It took long moments to pass, but knowing Rachel was alive, Kate was okay, and Chloe was with her helped. She was able to overcome it without breaking down into trembling pieces, and upon settling, she took a deep breath and braved the turn around to look at her friends, wondering why they hadn’t said anything during her panic attack.

She found them looking absolutely serene.

At some point, Chloe had readjusted and moved her head onto Rachel’s lap to sleep. Rachel seemed quite happy with the position. She had removed Chloe’s beanie and idly stroked her fingers through her girlfriend’s pretty blue hair. She had a book in her opposite hand, held up, and was reading, comfortably humming a little as she threaded her fingers through those fine strands.

Next to Chloe on that skateboard, it was the most beautiful, majestic scene that Max had ever seen. Her heart actually ached, they looked so perfect together, and her hand instinctively went to her camera. Max lifted it for the shot, and just before she snapped the picture, Rachel noticed her.

Max lowered the camera to see her friend giving her a gorgeous smile.

“How did it come out?” she asked, speaking softly so she wouldn’t wake Chloe.

Max pulled free the picture as it finished printing and flapped it through the air a few times. She let her camera hang from her neck and looked at the photograph, which was every bit as magnificent as the real life people.

“It’s perfect,” Max said with a little exhale. There were no other words for it.

“Can I see?”

Max nodded and went to her side, seating herself on the other side of Rachel with her back to the tree. She held up the picture, showing her friend.

“Ooh,” Rachel said, looking at Chloe in the picture. “That is a good one. You caught her beauty on camera.”

“Both of yours,” Max corrected, because it really was a flawless picture. “Do you want to keep it?” she offered.

“You don’t want it?” Rachel asked.

“I’ll see it if you put it up,” Max reasoned, giving her friend a tentative smile. “It’s of the both of you. You should have it.”

“Thanks, Max,” Rachel said, putting her book down to take the picture. She slid it in-between the pages. “I’ll have it framed and put up in Chloe’s room.”

“That’s a good place for it,” Max said, resting her head back against the giant tree trunk as she gazed out over the ledge and water to the trees in the far distance.

“I like this,” she voiced after a long moment, feeling the peace of the forest resonate within her. Her problems felt far, far away out here. “This is really nice. It feels normal.”

“It actually does, Max,” Rachel echoed, staring out into the distance with her. She lowered her head slowly, finding the sleeping punk in her lap, fingers twined in her beautiful hair. Her eyes softened in realization, and one last time, she echoed, “It actually does.”

* * *

“Kinda sucks being responsible sometimes,” Chloe jokingly remarked as the three of them entered the school, having arrived with time to spare before their next class. “I could use another nap right now.”

“School now, sleep later,” Rachel chimed, interlocking fingers with Chloe.

“Don’t know if I could hold you to that, babe.”

“Behave.”

Max smiled, enjoying the banter between the cute couple. Her smile grew when she felt Chloe’s free arm wrap around her shoulders, charmed that her best friend was making her feel included.

“Rachel! Hey, Rachel!”

All three of them stopped and saw Courtney waving them over. Rachel was the first to react, tugging a very reluctant Chloe over while Max followed, eyeing the Vortex Club party posters adorning the table Courtney was sitting behind.

“Hey, Courtney, what’s up?” Rachel asked, friendly despite the confrontation in her room earlier.

“Sorry about this morning,” Courtney said. “I tried to tell Victoria, but you know her when she thinks she has one over you. Anyway, you’re gonna be at the End of the World party, right? Chloe and Max are on the guest list, too, as always.”

“Yes, we’ll be there,” Rachel said, giving Chloe’s hand a squeeze.

“Awesome!” Courtney cheered, even doing a little dance. “And Max, if you want a makeover, I’ll be happy to help!”

“Oh,” Max mumbled, surprised to be addressed at all. “Um. If I decide on it, I’ll text you. Thanks, Courtney.”

“I like Max's style,” Rachel said, smiling her way.

“Me, too,” Chloe agreed, giving her a wink.

“Can’t hurt to have options,” Courtney shouted as they were walking away. “Think about it, Max! I can make you look so hot ,you’d make Chloe think about another girl for once!”

Max blushed, not helped by Chloe pulling her closer protectively.

“Don’t mind her, Max,” Rachel said, smiling at her reassuringly.

“Yeah, she’s just messing with you,” Chloe added. “I mean, you already know I think you’re hot.”

Max groaned and lightly punched Chloe’s side.

“Not helping.”

Chloe was very pleased with herself the rest of the way to photography class. Outside the room, Ms. Morrison seemed to be in the middle of a phone call, but went out of her way to smile and wave when she saw them. Max waved back, seeing Ms. Morrison for the first time and already seeing the contrast between her and Jefferson.

Max sucked in a breath when they entered the room, briefly seeing Jefferson leaning against the desk, even hearing his voice as he gloated about capturing desperation in a dark room. Then the room dissolved, turning into Jefferson’s dark room, a camera flash making her close her eyes.

She flinched, curling against Chloe and focusing on her. The smell on Chloe’s clothes, while not the cigarette and weed she had grown accustomed to, was still comforting, and Chloe’s arm, though a little heavier on her shoulders, made her feel grounded and anchored her.

Max looked up, now seeing the room as it was, stripped of everything Jefferson and replaced with effects that was no doubt Ms. Morrison’s, her style a complete opposite of his, and it was a breath of fresh air.

“You okay there, Max?” Chloe asked, holding her closer.

“Yeah,” Max murmured, allowing herself to enjoy the feel of Chloe’s heartbeat, the reminder that her best friend was alive exactly what she needed. “I just, uh, tripped back there. Sorry. Clumsy.”

“You are,” Chloe teased lightly, chuckling, “but I’m used to it.”

They reached the back of the room, where her and Rachel’s desks were, but unfortunately, their seats were currently occupied by Nathan and Victoria.

“Nate, I’m serious, if you don’t go to the nurse’s office right now, I’m dragging you there,” Victoria threatened, sounding aggravated. “You look like shit and you have a concussion, you should be in bed.”

“Vic, chill, okay?” Nathan hissed, wincing when she tentatively touched his face. “This is nothing, I fucking own thi---” he stopped when he noticed them, the color drained from his face, his wide eyes fixed on Chloe.

Victoria, finally noticing them, stepped in front of Nathan. Max, seeing Rachel cling to Chloe, placed herself in front of the couple, not for their sake but for Victoria and Nathan.

“You look like shit, Prescott,” Chloe said evenly, and Max could only wonder how her best friend must have looked because Nathan gulped. “Now get the fuck out of my best friend’s seat.”

Nathan, finally mustering his nerves, sneered, though it looked more like a grimace.

“F-fuck you, Price!”

“Hah,” Chloe snorted. “You’re a bitch today. What’s wrong, your dad finally had enough of your whining and kicked your ass?”

Nathan sprang from his seat, his fists clenched.

“At least I have a dad, dyke!”

Max braced herself, ready to stop Chloe, but her best friend just laughed it off.

“Yeah? Last I checked, I had a stepdad, so I guess I have one, too. And you know what else? My dad loved me. He loved me from the day I was born to the day he died. I can say that knowing I’m not lying to myself.”

Nathan took a step back, making a noise in his throat like he had stopped himself from speaking, and then, after a glance at Victoria, he fled.

“Nate!” Victoria called out to him, but he only ran out of the room faster. “Damn it. Amber!” she snapped, closing in on Rachel threateningly. “Leash your rabid mutt! She has no Goddamn right to talk to Nathan like that!”

“Yeah?” Chloe growled, stepping between Rachel and Victoria. “How about you train your fuckboy to stop slobbering all over my girlfriend?”

Looking surprised, Victoria immediately backed off, eyes wide in fright.

“I thought so,” Chloe said, scoffing.

Victoria wordlessly went to her seat, and when Chloe left for her class, Max and Rachel took their own seats. Max looked at Rachel, who looked back at her before turning back to the door where Chloe had just passed.

* * *

Chloe pulled up into the small parking lot near the lighthouse. “Okay, photo nerds, outta the truck.”

Rachel held a hand over her chest, giving Chloe a stricken look. “Calling your own girlfriend a nerd?” she asked, feigning her offense.

Chloe smirked playfully, blue eyes lighting up. “Nerds are hella hot.”

“You’re such a dork,” Rachel laughed, smiling, and grabbed Chloe by the front of her tank top to pull her closer. “C’mere,” she said in a more sensuous tone, tugging Chloe down to kiss her.

Max turned away and saw the lighthouse looming over them on the cliff. It made her feel very small. The last time she had been here, she had stood on that ledge overlooking the town, and she had decided to let Chloe die.

It hadn’t happened, but the daunting feeling didn’t leave her. It could have. It should have happened, and then Chloe would be dead. Rachel wouldn’t have come back, and she would be alone.

Max shook her head, quelling the ‘what if’ scenarios before they got out of control in her head. The fact of the matter was she had been willing to sacrifice Chloe, but the universe had said no, and she was grateful for it. She would gladly take being a little jealous of Rachel Amber over mourning the death of Chloe Price any day.

“---me up here, Max!” Chloe said, but Max didn’t register the words were directed at her. “Max?”

“Max?” Rachel asked and touched her shoulder, abruptly snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked over and saw Rachel gazing at her with pretty hazel eyes. “You okay?” she asked, and Max realized she was worried. “You’re spacing again.”

“Sorry, was just distracted,” Max mumbled lamely.

Chloe chuckled. “You artsy types. Go be inspired out there; the view’s better,” she said, and Max wondered if she was purposefully covering for her as she handed her keys to Rachel.

Rachel took them from her fingers, clutching Chloe’s whole hand, and wrapped her other arm around her girlfriend’s neck. “Wish you could stay here with us. The sunset is always beautiful from here.”

Chloe grinned roguishly. “Thought you liked me being mature and reliable.”

Rachel leaned in and kissed her briefly, giving Chloe her answer. She pulled back only a couple of inches.

“I love it, just feel selfish and greedy sometimes. Like now,” she said, tugging Chloe down to her again, lingering much longer this time, taking her time to enjoy Chloe. Max thought she even saw a peep of tongue.

Max watched them, feeling both happy and jealous before a tiny thread of guilt seeped through. She lowered her head.

Here she was, watching her best friends make out after having been with them almost the whole day, and she had been enjoying it. Despite herself, she had ogled both of her friends and joked with them. She had taken Joyce and David to the airport and basked in the motherly affection Joyce had given. She had had a really, really nice day with her friends.

In this perfect world she had been enjoying, whatever it was, however it had come to be, the storm was still coming for it, and this time, she had no powers to stop it.

Max heard the door open and looked up in time to see Chloe exit the truck and pull out her skateboard. Taking her cue, Max opened the car door and got out, followed by Rachel, who immediately returned to Chloe for one last kiss.

“Babe, you’re makin’ it really hard to go,” Chloe complained.

“Good,” Rachel said, looking at her in absolute adoration. “You better miss me as much as I’ll miss you.”

“Always,” Chloe said, initiating the last and final kiss between them. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Rachel whispered, finally letting her girlfriend go with great reluctance.

Chloe came over to Max and hugged her before she left. “See you, Max!”

As Max held her, she lingered, resting her head on the front of Chloe’s shoulder, and clung to her, remembering the last time she had let Chloe go here.

When the hug dragged on a little noticeably long, Chloe laughed. “Chill, Max! It’s just for a few hours tops.”

“I know,” Max mumbled, not ready to release her yet. Even with those lean and muscled, unfamiliar arms around her, Max felt better knowing she had Chloe to hold. “Just… be careful out there, okay? You’re awesome on a board, but it can’t hurt to be safe, you know?”

“Gonna put my gear on, promise,” Chloe swore.

“Okay,” Max said and released her, almost as reluctant as Rachel. She smiled at Chloe tentatively, feeling conflicted about staying here without her.

“You had better. Now, get out of here before I change my mind about letting you go to work,” Rachel said and spanked her girlfriend.

Chloe chuckled and stole another last kiss before grabbing a helmet from the truck bed and hopping onto her board.

She was the cutest, hottest, sexy, safe skateboarder that Max had ever known.

Rachel and Max both watched her go, and then when she took a corner, turning out of sight, Rachel sighed, forlorn as she looked up to the lighthouse. “Shall we?”

They began making their way up to the lighthouse, and Rachel glanced back a few times as if hoping for Chloe to return. Eventually, she asked, “have you picked out a photo for the contest yet, Max?”

“Oh, I haven’t,” Max said, because the Everyday Heroes contest was the last thing on her mind.

Like Rachel, Chloe’s disappearance had really mellowed her mood.

“The deadline’s tomorrow. You sure you don’t want my help picking?” Rachel ventured softly. “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m nagging you, Max, but I think you have a real shot at winning this. It would be a waste if you don’t even try. I get that you’re scared about putting your work out there, but trust me. You’re an artist, Max, and it’s about time the rest of the world found out.”

“The world?” Max asked, feeling small in it. “I’m so not ready for that. An exhibit at San Francisco is scary enough,” she said, remembering the timeline that she had won the contest in. She had felt like such a real artist, surrounded by her peers.

Then, Chloe had called, and Max had dropped everything to save her, including her dreams.

What had happened to that girl, the one who had been ready to give up anything for Chloe, to fight the world if she had to? Max didn’t know, she only knew that she wasn’t here.

“You gotta think big to make it big, Max!” Rachel was saying, “and you have an actual shot at it, not like that stupid idea Chloe and I had when we wanted to run away together.”

She paused, glancing at her friend, not sure how much she was supposed to know of their plan to run away together, so she opted for a neutral response.

“I’m glad you and Chloe decided to stay in Arcadia Bay, Rachel.”

“Me, too,” Rachel said, smiling wistfully. “I don’t know where we’d be now if we had ever went through with that.”

“Rachel, you’re gorgeous,” Max blurted, stating the obvious, and then blushed when Rachel looked at her with a suggestive and pleased smile, probably remembering their episode in the shower this morning.

Max cleared her throat, fumbling. “I-I mean, I’m sure you would have made it as a model,” she stuttered, desperately trying to cover up the clumsy compliment. “You still could, you know? Not that I’m telling you to go off and do it now, but if you wanted to…”

Rachel’s smile warmed, and she extended an arm around Max’s shoulders to pull her close as they walked. “You’re a sweetie, Max,” she said and then looked away, eyes growing sad as she shook her head. “But no, that’s not something I want to do anymore. It just reminds me of all the stupid things I used to do before.”

Max frowned, remembering how Evan had approached Rachel after class and asked her if she would model for him. It had seemed like he had been asking for a while now, but Rachel declined, saying she wasn’t comfortable with it anymore. Chloe had shown up, and she had returned to her normal self thereafter, but that shyness in Rachel was such a far cry from the girl she had heard so much about in her world, the one who handed out her pictures to complete strangers.

“Besides,” Rachel went on to say. “There’s a lot of other things I can do. What matters is having Chloe with me when I decide,” she said, and smiled a few seconds after, glancing at her. “Maybe we can travel the world like you wanted, Max.”

“That would be awesome, Rachel,” she gushed, meaning it. She would leave this town in a second with these two.

If only it weren’t for the storm.

They reached the top of the hill, and Rachel stopped as they passed the information stand.

“I’ll never stop finding this cute,” she said, and Max approached to see she was talking about Chloe’s doodles. She smiled, remembering them fondly from when they were children.

“Chloe always did like to leave her mark,” she remarked, but grew sad afterwards, remembering how Chloe had asked her to remember her before she had killed them.

Rachel smiled fondly, looking at the plaque, but seeming far, far away. “She’s so silly; she’s anything but forgettable. Even if we hadn’t gotten together, and we somehow went our separate ways, I’d remember her for the rest of my life.”

It was more than she had done.

Max looked away guiltily. “It probably didn’t help that she had a best friend who pretended she didn’t exist for the past five years.”

“Max…” Rachel said, breaking out of her happy headspace to look at her, a bit anguished. “You and Chloe are past that.”

“Because of you, Rachel,” Max said and knew it to be true. “If you hadn’t been around, she would probably still be furious with me, and I wouldn’t blame her at all. Probably would have been an idiot about it and not call or text that I was back in town,” she mumbled, guilt growing to weigh her down. She was lucky, and she knew it. Without Rachel, Chloe had a sore spot about being abandoned.

“So, seriously, Rachel, thank you for being there for her when I wasn’t,” Max thanked, getting a little emotional about it. Neither Rachel’s nor William’s abandonment of Chloe had been willful. Only Max’s had. “Thank you for loving her,” she said, because even her Chloe had loved Rachel, and it felt right that Rachel loved her back.

“Max, I know you have five years to make up for, but you’re still her best friend, trust me,” Rachel said, tone serious and soft. “You know her better than I do.”

“I really don’t know about that…” Max trailed off with great uncertainty.

Rachel looked at her with hard, serious eyes. She didn’t say anything at first, but wordlessly went to the bench and sat, leaving Max to follow and do the same. Still, Rachel didn’t say anything; she gazed out at the waters, expression deep and thoughtful.

Max fidgeted, suddenly a little cold, despite the weather. She wondered if she had misspoken. Would this Max have questioned Chloe’s friendship to her? She didn’t know, and it made her increasingly more nervous with every moment that passed.

Finally, after a small eternity, Rachel quietly spoke. “Did you know Chloe’s never talked back to Victoria before?” she asked, eyes still far away on the ocean. “Victoria’s been giving us shit since we got together. Chloe just pretended she didn’t exist, but today…” she trailed off and turned to Max with sad, pleading eyes. “Be honest with me, Max. What happened to… to him, it was Chloe’s doing, wasn’t it?”

Max stiffened a little, not sure how to answer or what to say, but it must have been clear on her face, because Rachel nodded, receiving confirmation from her silence.

“She told you?” Rachel guessed. “Is that why you’ve been spacing out so much?”

Max had made a promise to Chloe to keep quiet, but she couldn’t just put it down. Rachel had already guessed half of it, and Max didn’t want to lie to her. She wanted to reach Chloe.

Maybe Rachel could help.

“No, she didn’t tell me,” she said and took a deep breath, bracing herself. “I saw it, Rachel. I was there when it happened.”

Rachel reached out and took her hand immediately, stopping the tremor Max hadn’t noticed had begun.

“That bad?” Rachel asked in a hushed breath, looking fearful.

“I had to stop her, Rachel,” Max said with a shuddering breath. “I don’t know what would have happened if I didn’t.”

She didn’t mean to scare her, but Rachel gasped, very pale, and whispered, “Oh, my God.”

Max looked down, hesitant to continue because Rachel already seemed so affected, but she was curious. She wanted to help her best friend. “Do you… do you know why she would do that to him?” she asked, already suspecting the answer she had concluded before.

“It’s because of me, Max. It’s my fault,” Rachel confessed very quietly, and the unexpected answer made Max raise her head.

“What?” she asked. “What do you mean, Rachel?”

Rachel fell quiet again, breaking eye contact as she looked down at the bench between them, clearly struggling with this.

Max squeezed her hand, which Rachel still held, offering her support in the same way her friend had done the same.

“Max, there’s a reason Chloe and I don’t say much about why we decided to get clean. It wasn’t out of nowhere like Joyce and David think.”

Rachel turned away from her, hazel eyes raising to the ocean again, looking so affected, it hurt.

When she spoke again, her voice had dropped to a lower octave, and her eyes looked haunted. “Six months ago, I went to a Vortex Club party; I was drugged, and…” she stopped speaking, having trouble saying the actual words.

“By Nathan?” Max asked just to provide her a breather; she already knew the answer, having figured out that Rachel couldn’t even say his name. She squeezed Rachel’s hand again, which had started to tremble just from hearing it. “Jesus, Rachel,” she cursed, blood bubbling over the nasty prick.

That was one thing her world had over this one: Nathan Prescott was dead in it.

Rachel nodded, still unable to look at her. “I was already pretty strung out before that,” she confessed. “He gave me something to drink, offered me a ride back to school, and then… I was out.”

It was just like Kate. Nathan had manipulated her exactly the same way.  
  
Max shivered as she thought of Kate’s binder and the pictures Jefferson had taken of her. She had been desolate, helpless, and Rachel had been there, huddled up in the corner, completely unable to help herself, the same way Max had been unable to help herself when Jefferson had injected her.

Max lifted a hand, touching the back of her neck where she felt an uncomfortable pinch, and before her, she saw Chloe fall. It happened in slow motion, giving Max exact details. She saw the wound start to bleed, watched the life seep out of her eyes as she fell and hit the ground, then watched as that horrible teacher loomed over her. Max tried to help, but she was dizzy and she couldn’t lift her arm anymore. She couldn’t move anything. In another terrifying flash, darkness seeped in at the corners of her vision, threatening to take her.

“When I came to,” Rachel said, and the sound of her voice abruptly pulled Max out of the horror. She saw Rachel sitting there on the bench, hand held in her own, and felt her limbs, which she was fully able to move.

Max released a shaky breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. She shivered a little, passing off the phantoms, and focused all her attention back on Rachel.

“I was in his car, and I couldn’t move. I wasn’t tied up, but he had given me something,” she murmured, pale and haunted by the memory. “I couldn’t move,” she repeated, whispering.

“Rachel…” Max said, knowing exactly what she was going through. She touched her friend’s lower back, lending her presence and comfort, and when Rachel leaned into her, she put her arm around Rachel’s shoulders and held her close. “That must have been horrible,” she said, remembering the cold fear she had felt upon waking up, being bound to the chair, and then later, on the floor, held down completely helpless by sticky duct tape.

Max shook herself of the visage, not letting it progress like the last one had. Rachel needed her right now, she told herself. She had to focus on Rachel.

“He kept talking, about how much he loved me, about how he was the only one good enough for me,” Rachel said, looking sickly as the fear shone through in her glossy eyes upon remembering. “At red lights, he touched my hand, my shoulder, my face… told me I was so beautiful and that only he could capture it on print, that he should be the only one I should model for,” she said and closed her eyes tightly, starting to shudder. “I wanted to scream, wanted to get his hands off me.”

Max felt her tremor increasing and held Rachel tighter, one arm bracing her around the shoulders, the other gripping her hand, almost white.

Nathan was just like Jefferson. Jefferson had touched her as well, and it repulsed her. She still hadn’t showered enough to get rid of his phantom fingers on her cheek; it was enough to make her sick just thinking about it, and with Rachel, Nathan even lusted for her. Max remembered Jefferson telling her that, and judging by the way Nathan reacted around Rachel, it was completely true.

Max rubbed Rachel’s back, honestly not sure who the touching was helping more.

“You can go on if you want,” Max said, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it, but if it was helping Rachel that someone else knew, she would listen and bear through her own burdens.

She owed Chloe and Rachel that much.

Rachel didn’t speak immediately, but her fingers tightened in Max’s, and she had scooted so close, they could have melded together.

“I don’t know where he was taking me,” she finally said, voice quiet and fearful. She hadn’t stopped shaking since Max had held her. “Just that he seemed to be heading to the boondocks. Then, I don’t know how, but he popped a tire and had to pull over. He got out, and I thought he was going to get me, but when the door opened, it wasn’t him.”

Max swallowed hard, fearing the worst, that Jefferson had gotten to her there.

Rachel finally turned to Max, looking at her with expressive, hazel eyes, like she was reliving the whole thing all over again. “It was Chloe, Max.”

Max froze, eyes widening, and stared. “What?” she asked, needing a moment to process it.

“She said she showed up late at the party, saw him putting me in his car, and tailed us,” Rachel said, eyes drifting away again, but there was gladness in her sad eyes this time. “You know what’s even more amazing? She had just gotten out of the hospital that day, and that’s the first thing she did. The girl I had messed up and strung along for the hell of it, she saved my life.”

The memories clearly impacted her, because when Rachel closed her eyes again, the first tear fell, her face a total mix of bliss and sadness.

“Why was she at the hospital?” Max asked, struggling to piece this all together.

“Also because of me,” Rachel confessed, lowering her head from the setting sun to open her eyes again. She brushed away the fallen tear, but the tremor remained in her voice. “We were hanging out with our dealer, Frank, and I made her try crack. I was a dumbass; got high and didn’t watch her, and she OD’d on the second hit.”

At this, Rachel released Max’s hand and buried her face in her own. “She almost died because of me, Max. I got her started on all that shit: the drinking, the smoking, the weed, it was me, and on the day she could go home, where was I?” she asked, voice cracking as she revealed the truth. “At a fucking party, getting high on the shit that had almost killed her. And where was I the night before? Fucking Frank like the Goddamn crackwhore that I was,” she whimpered, and Max could hear the tears in her voice. “I deserved what happened to me.”

Max went rigid. “No, you don’t, Rachel,” she said firmly, knowing how that would have ended without Chloe. Nobody deserved that, especially not at the hands of Nathan Prescott. “And I’m sure Chloe has told you the same thing.”

Rachel lowered her eyes and curled in on herself. “She doesn’t know about Frank,” she said in a very small voice.

“What?” Max asked again, not very happy to hear it. She had been hoping, with how close Chloe and Rachel were, that Rachel had been honest about Frank in this world. She remembered how much it had broken Chloe when they found out, could see the pain in her pretty face when she realized the romance with the drug dealer had been real.

She had hoped to spare Chloe from reliving that pain again.

“Max, Chloe is the best thing to have ever happened to me,” Rachel said, pulling her head out of her hands, but was still a little teary. “After she pulled me out of the shit I put myself in, I wanted nothing to do with that kind of life anymore, with the kind of person I used to be.

I didn’t like who I was, Max. I was selfish, I used people to get what I wanted. It was so easy for me, to say the right things, act a certain way, give them what they want. Most people, it doesn’t take much, but then I didn’t want much usually. Chloe, she had nothing to give but baggage, but I was drawn to her. She had this light inside of her, Max. A light that even she couldn’t snuff out, no matter how angry and bitter she wanted to be. So I stuck around, because I loved seeing it.

And you see how that turned out. I got her into all kinds of stupid shit, and I got hooked on crack. Frank had what I needed, so I slept with him, gave him what he wanted. I got my crack, and he got a girl who loved him, at least that’s what he thought. By the time Chloe was getting serious about going to LA, I didn’t give a shit about it anymore. Before she OD’d, I was trying to figure out how to tell her about Frank, play him off as some guy who changed my life or something. That was the plan, make her mad at me, get her out of my life, and stay with Frank and his stash. I thought the least I could do for her was be a bitch and not make her feel like it’s her fault.

I was with Frank before I went to the party. We had a fight about Chloe, he was as jealous of her as she was of him. All I wanted was a hit, and somewhere between all the lying and the shouting, I told him the truth, that I didn’t care about him like he cared about me, and that all I ever wanted from him was the crack. He was so upset that he got high, and then he was just pissed. He--- he almost... I… I got away, but I still needed my fix, so I went to the party.”

Max rubbed her back, soothing Rachel in whatever meek and feeble way she could. Her friend had been holding this in so long, she had to tell somebody, and Max was happy to sit there and listen for her.

While listening, she had been trying to put herself in Chloe’s face and gauge her best friend’s reaction, which automatically made her think of Nathan on the floor of the bathroom, beaten and bleeding. She thought of the gun Chloe had been using to smash Nathan’s face in, and she remembered the ease in which she handled that weapon.

“Rachel,” Max said once her friend had confessed everything and was clearly still hurting over it. “If you explain this to Chloe like you had told me, I’m sure she would understand,” she said, confident about it until the last word left her mouth.

Would this Chloe understand? It was so hard to get a read on her. She could go from sweet girlfriend and best friend one minute to beating a guy with a deadly weapon in the next. Max didn’t know what to make of it, but at least she understood the anger now.

Still. This had happened six months ago. Why was Chloe acting up now?

“Are you worried about Frank?” she asked, redirecting her efforts to the problem at hand. “Do you think she’d go off on him like she did with Nathan?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t think she’d find Frank even if she wanted to. He’s still dealing, but no one’s seen him in person for months. Pompidou was his dog, you know. I found him at the diner a few months ago, no sign of Frank or his RV. We lied to Joyce and David about him belonging to a friend,” she said and glanced at Max, eyes full of guilt and remorse. “Sorry we lied to you, too, Max.”

“It’s okay,” Max said, because she didn’t know what else she could. “I understand, Rachel,” she mumbled and cursed herself for not having the words to help, for sitting here so awkwardly as one of her closest friends in this world struggled.

Rachel had been through hell, first with Frank, and then with Nathan, and to make matters worse, she felt like she actually deserved it.

And Max just didn’t know what to say.

Rachel quieted down again, taking a few long breaths, trying to relax herself, but the tremors didn’t go away, and she still looked just as troubled and scared.

“I don’t want to tell her, Max,” she finally confessed. “I just… I want to put it all behind me, behind us. I want to move past it; it’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last six months,” she said it like she was trying to convince her, and then frowned, not even buying the excuse herself. “I’m afraid that, if I tell her, it would change the way she looked at me, how she sees me,” she finally said, the truth coming out. “I’m afraid that she’d see that I’m… ugly, that I’m dirty and disgusting.”

“Rachel, no,” Max insisted, grabbing her hand because touch comforted her friend. “That’s not true, and Chloe would never think that about you.”

Rachel looked at her with sad, heavy eyes, burdened and hurting. “Max, when I'm with her, I feel like myself, I feel like… like I’m okay. And when she kisses me, when she touches me, I feel beautiful, cherished… loved. What if that changes when I tell her? What if she changes? The way she looks at me, the way she feels about me? What if she leaves me?” she asked, voice trembling and on the tip of breaking down again just from thinking about it. “I love her so much, Max. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Max didn’t know what more she could say or how she could quash a fear like that, so she didn’t say anything at all. She lurched over Rachel, draping herself over her friend as much as she could, and hugged her.

As a shadow fell over them, Max didn’t look up, already knowing it was the eclipse. She kept her eyes on the girl in her arms.

A cool wind passed over them, and Max felt an odd mix of calm and dread all at once. Everything seemed to be falling into place: her, Rachel, even the storm.

Everything, but Chloe.


	3. The Day Chloe Price Died

Once they had reached Auto Repair and parked, Rachel hurried out of the truck and ran to one of the carports. Max followed, finding Rachel standing just outside of a garage that was wide enough to fit five vehicles, two of lots empty and only one car propped up on a lift. The back of the garage was full of shelves, car parts, and tools, and the air smelled thick of oil, gasoline, and grease.

In the middle of it all, wearing nothing but a stained white undershirt and a dirty pair of jeans, Chloe hunched over the open hood of a car. She was filthy with dirt and grime. Various black smudges covered her exposed body and had ruined her shirt, and at some point, her jeans had torn.

Chloe casually leaned over the engine, slick with sweat and grease, which gave a little shine to the ouroboros tattoo on her lean and muscled arm.

As she worked on the car, not yet noticing them, it was such a strange sight to Max. She didn’t recognize this calm, hardworking Chloe who had a steady job and seemed to like it. Watching Chloe now, she seemed so domesticated. It was something Max hadn’t thought she would see in her best friend.

“Chloe,” Rachel called out to her, sounding desperate and needy, as if this might be the last time she would ever see her girlfriend.

Chloe lifted her head, seeing Rachel approaching her at a sprint.

“Whoa!” she gasped, barely lifting her arms in time to catch her panicked girlfriend. They spun a little, carried with Rachel’s momentum, and then her girlfriend’s lips smothered hers in a desperate and emotional kiss.

They stood there a long time, held in each other’s arms, and it wasn’t long before their bodies had completely glued together, seeming like they were one. Even when they stopped kissing, they remained just as intimate.

“I missed you,” Rachel whimpered, near tears as she buried her face into her girlfriend’s shoulder and inhaled, which seemed to settle her a little, but didn’t erase her need for Chloe.

“I missed you, too, Angel,” Chloe said, cradling Rachel to her body. She stroked the back of her head reverently, soothing her girlfriend, blue eyes full of understanding and sorrow as she looked down at her girlfriend.

Max shyly meandered closer, but Chloe was the only one to notice, Rachel firmly cuddled in her arms.

“Max!” her best friend exclaimed, looking between her girlfriend and her. She almost seemed angry. “The hell happened?”

Max’s heart quickened with Chloe’s eyes on her like that, seeking the source of Rachel’s pain, which she couldn’t entirely say.

Fumbling a little, Max went with a half-truth. “She’s upset about Nathan, about seeing him earlier today…”

Chloe’s hard eyes rounded, and she squeezed Rachel, losing her focus from Max.

“Oh, Rach,” she said, blue eyes soft when they met her girlfriend’s, who looked up at her, anguished.

“Ellie,” Rachel whispered pleadingly.

“Max, we need some time,” Chloe said without looking at her, only having eyes for Rachel. “Do you mind waiting in the truck?” she asked, and it took Max a startled moment.

“Oh!” she said, realizing what they intended, and was surprised Chloe had asked. Her best friend still hadn’t moved on Rachel, waiting on her to go. “Y-yeah,” she said, shuffling her feet as she turned away from the couple. “No problem, Chloe. I’ll… I’ll be in the car.”

Chloe reached into Rachel’s back pocket and pulled out the keys, which she tossed haphazardly to Max.

“Thanks, Max. I owe ya,” she said, holding Rachel’s trembling body very still in her arms.

“Anytime, Chloe,” Max said, turned and left them.

* * *

About an hour later, Max saw her friends approaching, and she anxiously hopped out of the truck to greet them.

“Max,” Chloe said, coming towards her with Rachel at her side, smiling, “hope we didn’t make you wait too long. Thanks again, dude, was really awesome of you.”

“So awesome,” Rachel purred, comfortably snug into Chloe’s side and looking much happier now.

“Babe,” Chloe laughed when Rachel’s hand began to wander, “don’t think Max feels like doing us another favor right now.”

“Yes, she does. She’s a super best friend.”

Max stared at them, astonished with how normal the two were acting. After being so serious and private, they seemed happy again now, and they had become shamelessly affectionate again, slipping into it as if it were a second skin.

“Um... it’s getting late, guys; we’re gonna have to sneak back into the dorms like fugitives, so we should get going.”

Chloe and Rachel looked at each other, and Max could easily see their scheming minds at work.

“Actually, Max…” Rachel began.

“You two should crash at my place!” Chloe finished excitedly, bouncing on her feet. “C’mon, dude, it’ll be awesome! We haven’t had sleepovers since we were kids, and we’ll have the house to ourselves this time!”

Max blinked, watching her best friend, feeling terribly awkward to receive such a jubilant invitation after she had just had to leave them for the past hour.

“I don’t know…” she said uncertainly.

“Aww, Max, please? Rachel and I didn’t mean to take that long. Are you mad?” she asked, and Max shook her head, merely shocked. “Let us make it up to you!” Chloe said, in great spirits. “I’ll make us all dinner!”

“If you really want company, Rachel can stay with you,” Max suggested, not wanting to get in the way of her friends again, not if they needed more time together. “Just drop me off at the school first.”

“But we want you there, Max!” Rachel said, giving her apologetic, pleading eyes. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“I guess…” she said hesitantly, still thinking her friends might need more time alone together. “Maybe... but I don’t have any clothes to change into, and I don’t think we should risk sneaking in and out of the---” Max trailed off when she looked Chloe’s way, seeing that her best friend had gotten on her knees and was now looking up at her with big puppy eyes. “Oh, for the love of…” she grumbled in defeat, because how someone so tall and intimidating could manage to look so small and cute was beyond her.

“That’s a yes, woo!” Chloe cheered, smoothly getting up and snagging her into a hug.

“Chloe, put me down!” Max squeaked, flailing futily in her best friend’s strong arms. “Ugh, you’re getting grease and Rachel all over me, you dirty punk!”

“Did you want the real thing, Max?” came the unhelpful question.

“Rachel, no!” she squawked in horror when Rachel joined the hug, making her dirtier. “I hate you both so much right now.”

“Don’t worry, Max,” Rachel assured her with a laugh. “I have clothes at Chloe’s. We’re the same size, you can borrow some of mine.”

Max huffed, fighting to urge to smile and keep playing the grump.

“Yeah, especially after you two made me your own personal grease rag.”

Eventually, after they had their fun, Chloe and Rachel released her, and the three of them made their way to the truck.

* * *

After a ride full of inappropriate stares and smirks and a knowing glance at the fuzzy dice displayed over the dashboard, Max had had her fill of Rachel’s sex eyes for the day. She was both happy and tentative to pull up to the Price household, a place of comfort and safety to her.

When she saw it, she was surprised to find it a completely different color.

Max settled back in her seat, awed as they rolled up to the blue-and-white painted house. She remembered reading in her journal that David and Chloe had worked on projects together, but she hadn’t expected the whole house to be painted over.

“Mmm,” Rachel purred with a sensuous squeeze of Chloe’s knee. “We’re home,” she said, sounding content.

Chloe flashed her smile and opened the door, stepping out of the truck.

“Time to eat!”

Max gave Rachel a warning look as Chloe hopped out of the truck.

“Behave yourself.”

Rachel’s smile promised anything but. “Come on,” she said, still giggling.

They left the car and followed Chloe through the ornate, decorated door into the house, and Max’s awe doubled.

Just in the doorway, she found the whole entryway and stairs had been recarpeted. It led all the way to the back living room. Max walked in, following Rachel, and was astonished as soon as she reached the kitchen.

Handcrafted cupboards lined the walls, and the countertops had been switched out for granite. The kitchen floor almost sparkled, it looked so polished, and a new, bigger kitchen table had been put into the dining area next to a rebricked fireplace.

The layout of everything had mostly stayed the same, but Max almost felt like she was in a different house, they had done so many projects. David and Chloe had really put work into this place.

“So, dinner! What do you want, babe? You know, besides me,” Max heard Chloe say, and soon her best friend appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Haha! Just kidding, Max. Your choice tonight!”

“I think I should make food,” Max suggested, “and that you two should shower.”

“That’d make me a bad host, wouldn’t it?” Chloe quipped. “But I get it, you don’t want motor oil or Rachel and me on your food. Or, do you?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“Chloe!” she barked.

“Just screwing with you, Max! We’ll take a quick shower, and I’ll cook dinner. Me, okay? This is the Price residence and the Price is always right!”

Max groaned at the pun, but Rachel laughed and kissed Chloe. Thankfully, Pompidou decided to join in on the fun and began tugging at Chloe’s suspenders, eventually pulling her away.

“Shit, I don’t believe this,” Chloe bemoaned dramatically. “Cockblocked by my own dog!”

Tail wagging, Pompidou barked happily and let go of Chloe’s suspenders.

“Alright, alright, you bastard, we’re going,” Chloe grumbled, and Max pat Pompidou on his head, praising him for his help. “Maximus!” Chloe said before leaving. “We will be back in a few minutes! Decide what you want to eat, and don’t touch that stove! Those are your orders!”

“I can get us started, at least---” Max started to say, but Chloe interrupted.

“You have your orders, Max!”

“We won’t take another hour, Max,” Rachel said in a gentler tone, and when Max looked up from Pompidou, she saw sincere remorse in her eyes. “Promise. It will just be a few.”

Max nodded, and her friends disappeared upstairs. She felt a little better, knowing her friends were apologetic for it, but she wasn’t sure she trusted their primal instincts in the shower together.

“Do you believe them, Pompidou?” she asked, and Pompidou tilted his head at her. She scratched him behind the ears. “Me, neither. How do you deal with them?”

Pompidou barked, and Max reached out to hug the dog.

“I know,” she said, briefly wondering again what had happened to Frank. “You’re a good boy.”

Knowing this would likely take some time, she looked up and found a tennis ball near the door.

“Pompidou, want to play fetch?”

Pompidou’s ears perked, clearly understanding, and then he made a mad dash for the yard.

* * *

After an eventful dinner, one Rachel and Chloe spent being a toothachingly adorable couple, Max found herself cleaning up and washing the dishes with Chloe.

“I’m going up to change the sheets!” Rachel told them, already halfway up the stairs, followed by Pompidou’s excited barking. “And Max, you’re bunking with us, no buts about it. And no sex, we promise!”

“Unless you asked,” Chloe lewdly added, winking at her.

“Ugh,” Max groaned, splashing water Chloe’s way. “You’re an animal.”

“Duh, I’m a hella sexy beast and you know it,” Chloe said smugly, bumping shoulders with her.

Max blushed, hoping her best friend would pass it off as embarrassment.

“Seriously, Chloe,” she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the dishes. “I can sleep on the couch or on the floor of Joyce and David’s room or something. I know you and Rachel haven’t had much time together today.”

“Won’t be easy,” Chloe admitted, nudging her again and smiling sweetly at her. “But I’m not gonna toss you out like that, Max, it wouldn’t be cool, especially after what we just did. You and Rachel take my bed, and I’ll sleep on the floor with Pompidou, okay? Heh. He’d probably love that. Fucker better not drool on me.”

“Chloe, you don’t have to do that,” Max said, touched by her best friend’s consideration.

Chloe shrugged, the smile still on her face.

“Too bad, I’m gonna. Unless, you know, you’re up for a threesome, then I gotta kick the dog out for that.”

Max stared at Chloe for the longest time, and then promptly yanked her beanie over her eyes.

“Chloe Price, you’re such a pervert.”

“Ack, you got soap in my eye!”

“Too bad.”

* * *

Max woke up warmer than she had ever been in her life. It was the most pleasant feeling, like she was wrapped in the tightest, most fitted and cuddly blanket, and it felt amazing.

“Max, are you awake?” Chloe gently asked.

Max opened her eyes and saw hazel ones only a few inches away, and they didn’t belong to Chloe. “Rachel?” Max asked, confused as she realized they were close enough that Rachel was actually hugging her.

“Hey, Max,” Rachel greeted as Max identified a second pair of arms around her, this one clinging to her from behind. She realized that the warmth she felt was from both of her friends’ bodies, which were closely pressed up against her from either side.

Chloe was spooning her.

Max blinked, not sure what was going on, and not altogether sure she wanted it to end.

“You okay, Max?” Chloe asked, nuzzled into her closely. Now that she was aware of it, Max felt the smooth curvature of her muscles through thin pajamas and Rachel’s voluptuous body pressed to her. She realized she had never been this close and intimate to another person before.

“I’m fine,” Max said, glancing back over her shoulder, but she only caught a glimpse of Chloe from under her chin. “Did I get in the middle of your cuddling?” she asked.

Rachel smiled warmly at her as she settled back in. “No, Max,” she said, clearly amused with the question. “Chloe slept on the floor, remember?”

“Oh,” Max said, remembering. She blinked again. “So, um…”

“You were having a nightmare,” Rachel said, filling her in. “I tried to calm you down, but you started lashing out. Chloe came up and held you, and you calmed down almost instantly.”

Behind her, Max felt Chloe shrug.

“We figured we’d both hold you the rest of the night. Keep you safe.”

Max glanced back at her blue-haired best friend again, and instead of nonchalance, she was surprised to see such a look of loving care and compassion, it played on her heart, making her ache for the Chloe of her world

“And you stayed with me that way all night?” Max asked, truly touched by the gesture.

“No big deal,” Chloe said, but her curious eyes told a different story.

“Would you like to talk about it, Max?” Rachel asked, calling back her attention.

Max turned to her and her hair flipped into her face a little. Rachel brushed the strands back gently, fingers brushing her cheek as she tucked the stragglers behind her ear. Her fingers were warm, and she let them rest there, cradling Max’s cheek gently.

“I don’t remember them,” she said truthfully, because she didn’t recall having nightmares last night.

“Good,” Chloe said and squeezed her in those strong arms, making her all the more comfortable.

“Yeah…” Max said, warm even to her toes. She had always enjoyed being close to Chloe, but Rachel’s growing comfort with her was actually very soothing as well. She didn’t want either of them to move. “Thanks for calming me down,” she mumbled, prolonging the moment.

“We’re happy to help, Max,” Rachel said, stroking her cheek in a very friendly and intimate fashion, comforting her.

Max smiled, relaxed and happy to have this little, cozy moment in time away from all her fears and stress.

Comfortable with her friends, Max lowered her eyes to rest, but when she did, she found Rachel’s breasts between them.

Her mind went back to the shower from yesterday, and suddenly so very prominently, Max realized she could feel the studs in Rachel’s nipples, that they were pressed to her own chest, and that this is what Chloe must have felt every time they had sex.

Max lifted her head quickly, trying not to be conspicuous about the direction her eyes had relaxed in, but when she did, she saw Rachel smile at her with that all-knowing look.

Blood rushed to her face.

“Oh, Max,” Rachel said with a little laugh. “We’ve got to find you a girlfriend, sweetie,” she said, leaning in to kiss Max squarely on the forehead, which didn’t help.

Rachel began pulling away from her, and Max almost grabbed her, trying to stop her from leaving their comfortable bubble.

“I’m going to make some breakfast,” Rachel said, smiling beautifully as she leaned over Max and gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips, providing Max with a view of her swollen breasts as she passed.

Max closed her eyes, plagued with the vision of them from yesterday’s shower.

Rachel giggled and pulled away off the bed. “You help this bag of hormones settle down, babe. Maybe throw her in a cold shower.”

At this point, she would welcome that.

“I wasn’t looking!” Max blurted as Rachel left them, still giggling.

“Were you checking out my girlfriend? In my bed?” Chloe asked, squeezing her around the middle again, but this time, she rolled onto her back, effectively pinning Max’s arms at her sides. “You think you’re hardcore, Mad Max?”

“Chloe, I wasn’t---!” Max squeaked, kicking and wriggling to free herself, but Chloe was too strong. “It was an accident!”

“To the plank with you, lech!” Chloe said in a pirate’s voice.

“Chloe!” Max yelped again as Chloe rolled with her. They made a full turn and reached the edge of the bed where Chloe held her over the ledge.

“Any last words, wretch?” she demanded in that pirate voice.

“Chloe, I will kill you if you push me off this bed,” Max threatened, squirming as she tried to keep her balance.

“To the seas with ye!” Chloe said and pushed her, making Max fall forward for a full fraction of a second before she caught her and reeled her back in.

“Got ya,” Chloe said, sounding smug.

“You jerk!” Max said, turning around to swat her. “I could’ve fallen!”

“Hey, hey!” Chloe said, catching her arms and bracing her. She gave her puppy eyes. “C’mon, Max, you know I wouldn’t do that,” she said, smiling hopefully, but when Max glared at her, indignant, Chloe’s face turned honest and genuine. “I would never let you get hurt, Max.”

Max’s anger faded, and as she looked into those warm blue eyes, everything else seemed to fade with it. The fresh coat of paint leaked from the walls, exposing Chloe’s posters and vandalism, and the air filled with a faint hint of smoke. Dirty clothes and magazines littered the floor, and a great, American flag cut off the incoming light from the window, dimming the whole room.

And Chloe. Chloe’s face was a warm blanket of comfort; gone was the eyebrow piercing, the nose and tongue stud, her second tattoo sleeve; Chloe lay before her, bare of all her accessories, and she was beautiful.

“I know you wouldn’t, Chloe,” Max said, all traces of humor gone. “You’re always there for me.”

Chloe looked down, breaking eye contact with her, and Max felt a severe loss. Her chest actually throbbed.

“Chloe,” Max said, trying to call her best friend back to her. “Are you alright?”

“That’s a broad question, Max,” Chloe said, and her room started to fade back to the plain, neat one she had as the distance starting to grow between them. “What do ya mean?”

All Max wanted to do was hug her. She wanted to reveal everything.

But Max couldn’t do that. She couldn’t bring herself to be that selfish, so she brought up the only thing she could that she felt was bothering both of them, something that she still didn’t have answers to, which Chloe had consciously hidden.

“I mean about Nathan,” she said. “Yesterday in the classroom? You seemed really pissed. I thought you were going to beat him up in front of everyone.”

An invisible film came over Chloe’s whole face, changing it, and suddenly, Max was looking at Chloe with all her piercings.

She scoffed, almost sneering. “He deserves it. Fucker scared Rachel! You saw how upset she was,” she growled, furious. “That prick was lucky he wasn’t alone.”

Chloe breathed in deeply, seeming to notice Max again, and she shook her head. The mean look lost its edge, but the room and Chloe remained the same.

“But yeah, I’m okay, Max,” she said, regaining herself with incredible, almost militaristic restraint. “Don’t worry about it, alright?”

Her arms came around Max again to hug her, but it didn’t feel as warm as the last one. Chloe released her after just a few seconds.

“I’m gonna check on Rachel,” she said, and Max let her go, wondering how often that frightening rage showed itself.

* * *

“Order up!”

Max looked up from her journal as two plates were set in front of her. The waitress, Debbie, smiled at her and Max smiled back. Putting her journal back in her bag, she thanked the cheerful woman and left a tip.

“Thank you, darlin’. Now, you be sure to bring those plates back, alright?”

“I promise, Debbie,” she assured the woman, taking both plates and exiting the diner.

Once outside, she paused for a moment, feeling strangely incomplete being alone. She had decided to eat at Two Whales to give Chloe and Rachel time alone, which she felt the couple sorely needed after she had imposed upon them last night. Still, she yearned to be close to Chloe, just to be sure she was alive.

Reminding herself that Chloe had texted her just minutes ago, Max went to the back of the diner, where the homeless woman squatted. The woman saw her coming and gave a friendly wave.

“‘Morning, Max!”

“G’morning, Alma,” Max greeted back, having finally learned the woman’s name from one of her earlier journal entries. “I hope bacon and eggs for breakfast is okay.”

Alma chuckled, gratefully taking the plate and the bottled water she offered.

“My dear, any food is more than okay for the likes of me. Now, come on, eat with me.”

Max nodded, pulling up a nearby stool and sitting.

“Not with Chloe and Rachel today?” Alma asked after taking a few bites. “Usually, you three are like peas in a pod.”

“Just me this morning,” Max said, following the woman’s lead and starting with her own plate. “I thought I could give them a little privacy.”

“Ah, kids,” Alma chuckled. “I’ve seen how those two are, like rabbits, I tell you.” They shared a laugh, and then the woman said, “Oh, but it’s nice to see Rachel so happy. That girl was so troubled, the kind of trouble someone that young had no business having. I fear what may have happened to her if she kept on that path.”

“I’m glad she’s okay, too,” Max agreed, trying not to think of the grave she and her Chloe had found in the junkyard.

Alma’s smile faltered then, and she sighed.

“Now, if only Joyce’s girl could find the same peace.”

“What do you mean?” Max blurted out, surprised by what Alma had said.

Alma frowned.

“Even you don’t know, Max? I suppose if her own family, if even that girl of hers seems clueless about it, then chances are you’re missing it, too. Now, I know you’ve only been back in town for a month, and that girl has enough misery in her life already, so I’m not sure I should be saying any more.”

“Please,” Max pleaded, hoping Alma would trust her as she had in her own timeline. “I love Chloe; I care about her so much. The last thing that I would want is to hurt her. I just… if there’s anything you know, anything at all that can help me help her… please.”

Alma looked at her, her expression softening when their eyes met.

“I’ve been keeping my mouth shut around Joyce because I feared I’d do more ill than good for Chloe,” the woman started, smiling sadly. “But something, this feeling, it’s telling me to trust you, Max, and I hope it’s right.”

Both their meals forgotten, Alma began to talk.

“I’m sure you know that six months ago, Chloe was a very different girl, lost, angry, and determined to follow Rachel to the darkest corners of hell itself if she had to. Then all of a sudden, she turns it around, just like that. She turned into the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect girlfriend. Perfect like her girlfriend, and what did perfection do to Rachel Amber?”

Max bowed her head, having just found out herself what exactly it had done to Rachel.

“Joyce calls it a miracle,” Alma went on, sighing again. “Me? I’m too old to believe in that, too old to think all those demons went away just like that. They’re still there, you know, she just keeps ‘em away from you all. But sometimes… well, they come out, ‘cause you just can’t keep beating them back forever, not alone.”

“Have you…” Max said, looking back up, “have you seen her? When she’s like that?”

“I have,” Alma affirmed calmly, “and something tells me you have, too. I won’t pry, but about what I saw… just yesterday, this man, who was it… ah, that trucker who likes to give Joyce lip. Yes, him. Well, seems he’s already missing her, ‘cause he couldn’t wait to harp on Chloe when she stopped by that afternoon to give me a meal. She tried to walk away from him, made it all the way to the parking lot until she couldn’t take it anymore.”

“And...?” Max asked anxiously, dreading the answer.

Alma looked at her knowingly.

“The man is twice her size, Max, and she leveled him like he was nothing. Seems she learned a lot from her stepfather, probably more than he thinks. No one saw, of course, because she always seems to know what goes on around her, doesn’t she? Sure, I saw it, but she doesn’t mind me much. And the trucker, well... he’s not about to tell anyone a teenage girl just gave him the beating of his life.”

“Oh, God, Chloe,” Max murmured, burying her face in her hands.

“She’s a good kid, Max,” came Alma’s hopeful voice, “she just needs someone to remind her, to make her see.”

* * *

The door to Rachel’s room opened, and Max looked up to see her friend with a bag of takeout food from the diner that she had picked up for them.

“Food’s finally here,” she said, closing the door behind her as she brought the sandwiches over to Max on the bed. “Sorry for the hold up.”

“That’s okay,” Max forgave easily, taking her sandwich and putting the laptop aside on the desk. “Thanks for getting us dinner,” she said, unwrapping it eagerly, hungry.

“It’s the least I could do,” Rachel said as she took a giant bite.

A bit confused by the answer, Max glanced up at her as she sat and settled in on the bed beside her.

“For yesterday,” Rachel specified, nodding at her. “When we asked you to wait for us? It was very rude of us; I’m sorry we were so inconsiderate, Max. Chloe only did that because I was so desperate for her, and she’s too good to me, but I’ve been meaning to say it. I’m sorry, Max.”

Max shook her head, swallowing down her food, and when her throat was clear, said, “You don’t need to apologize for that, Rachel. I know our talk took a lot out of you. You missed her; it’s okay.”

“You’re very sweet for being so understanding, Max,” Rachel said, hazel eyes soft and grateful. “We left you for a long time. It wasn’t right.”

“It makes you feel better to be with Chloe,” Max pointed out. “I get that, Rachel. I just wish you wouldn’t feel so terrible without her. You’re a beautiful and smart girl,” she said, the compliments slipping out easier without the usual embarrassment, “and you don’t deserve what happened to you, Rachel. Sure, you’ve made mistakes, and you’ve hurt people, but it sounds to me like you’ve paid your dues, and I don’t mean because of what you went through with Frank and Nathan. You deserve to be happy all the time, not just around Chloe.”

Rachel unexpectedly leaned over and hugged her. “Thank you, Max,” she said in a trembling voice, and Max maneuvered with her food as best as she could to hug her back.

“It’s all true,” she insisted.

Rachel didn’t counter or agree with it, but she said, “You’re an incredible friend, and I’m lucky to have you.”

She held her for a moment before pulling away, hazel eyes glossy with emotion.

“I’m here anytime you need to talk, Rachel,” Max assured her and sat back against the wall. “Where is Chloe, anyway?”

“She’s dropping off something at the shop, and then we’ll probably meet up at her house after my interview. You’re welcome to join us, Max.”

“Thanks. I might,” Max said, having no other plans for the night. It was just a matter if she would leave Chloe to Rachel again or not.

They finished their food in each other’s company, and when Max next looked at the clock, she realized just how much time had passed with her friend.

“Juliet’s going to be here in a few minutes,” Rachel finally said, throwing out her trash. “She’s going to ask you for commentary if you stick around.”

“I should probably go,” Max joked, standing, and Rachel smiled, amused.

“Thanks for sitting with me, Max. For understanding, being here for me... everything.”

“I’m happy if it’s helping, Rachel,” Max said, giving her friend an earnest smile. “Try to feel better,” she said, and Rachel stood to hug her one last time.

“I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay, Rachel. See you.”

Max left just as Juliet appeared to be coming her way. She smiled and acknowledged her as she passed, making her way to her room. Just as she reached it, her cell phone vibrated with a text from Chloe. She opened it and read it over, going cold at the sight of the words there.

Max felt dizzy and closed her eyes. The next time she opened them, she saw the dark room and its cameras, and she was back in the chair again. She couldn’t move and Jefferson was there, looming over her. She panicked, trying to claw away the duct tape from her arms before she realized that it was hurting, because she was actually able to.

Max looked down at her arms, and the visage of the dark room and all its horrors faded away like it had never been there. She was on the floor just outside her dorm room, and her right arm had scratches where she had clawed herself.

Her phone was on the ground, and she scrambled to pick it up and read the message again, making sure she hadn’t imagined it.

She hadn’t.

Chloe wanted to meet her at the Prescott barn.

* * *

It took her around an hour to get there, having had to walk the last stretch after the bus had dropped her off, but Max finally arrived at the Prescott barn. She shuddered and shook her head, shaking off the memories before they could overwhelm her again.

When she arrived, she found Chloe waiting outside to greet her.

“Maximus!” Chloe welcomed her with a smile and open arms, meeting her in the middle of the dirt road that led to the barn.

Chloe hugged her, and Max folded up into her arms.

“Did you get my texts?” Chloe asked, “You didn’t respond after the first. Sorry you had to take the bus all the way out here; I didn’t have my truck to pick you up.”

Had Chloe taken the bus out here first?

“It’s okay. The bus was fine,” Max lied, tucking her head into her friend’s neck, inhaling her scent for comfort.

Chloe still smelled like Rachel, but Max was starting to get used to that. Even the hugs were starting to feel better to her: they weren’t the drapey hugs that she adored from Chloe, but Max felt safe, wrapped in her buff arms.

It ended all too soon.

“Still, sorry, Max! I only called you out here because it’s important,” Chloe said, pulling back from her. She frowned when she glanced her over. “You alright, Max? You’re as pale as I am.”

“Just a little cold,” Max lied again.

“Oh, well, take my jacket,” Chloe offered, immediately slipping free from it, leaving her in her usual, thin tank top.

“Won’t you be cold---”

Chloe waved her off.

“Nah, Max, come on. I got my beanie, see?” she said, indicating it as she draped the jacket over Max’s shoulders.

Despite herself, Max smiled a little. She put her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and cuddled into the warm garment, feeling a little better with Chloe’s scent so close.

“C’mon, I have something awesome to show you,” Chloe said with a wave of her arm.

Max swallowed, bracing herself as they approached.

“How did you find this place, Chloe?” she asked, feeling sickly as she beat back the memories.

“You know, driving around,” Chloe said casually. “It’s as old as this damn town, but it’s got a lotta space and no one goes here. Check it out!”

Chloe went straight to the padlock and inserted a key to unlock it, then opened the tall barn door and pushed it back slowly.

Max peered through the crack and caught a glimmer of something white before the door fully opened, revealing an enormous three-story RV that almost took up all the space in the barn. Her eyes widened.

The RV was huge and in immaculate shape, pearly white without any scratches, looking brand new off the lot. The front of it had a huge, circular window above above the base of the car, looking more like the window for a submarine than for a RV, and Max thought she saw a gazebo on top. It looked so sleek and flashy, she didn’t even want to think about what fortune went into this.

“Nice, huh, Max?” she asked, turning to Max with a proud grin. “It’s called the Element. Fits up to eight people comfortably. I wanted lots of room. It’s about time Rachel got the comfort she’s used to at home.”

“Chloe…” Max said, almost speechless.

“You wanna see the inside?” Chloe asked excitedly, not sharing her shock or horror. “There’s a bed in there, Max! A queen-size bed!”

“Chloe, how?” she managed to ask, completely confounded.

“From Prescott, duh,” Chloe said as if that should have been obvious. “Prick came through a day early.”

“This must’ve cost a fortune,” Max mumbled, not having thought Chloe had been looking to extort so much. She didn’t feel bad for him; Nathan had the cash to spare, and even if he hadn’t, she still wouldn’t have felt terrible, but this kind of purchase was tremendous.

“It’s the very least he owes us,” Chloe said, eyes flashing dark for just a moment before she returned to her happy self again. “Now come on, Max!” she said, taking her hand and rushing into the barn. “I wanna show you! It’s killer!”

Max shuddered at the expression, knowing a couple of killers who resided in this place before. She was tugged along, only able to take those final steps into the barn because of it.

She followed Chloe into the RV, which welcomed them by automatically extending a small set of steps at the click of a button. They entered, and Max was immediately awed.

An expansive carpeted hallway greeted her, and it led back into a comfortable-looking living room. Plush red leather couches sat against the back wall facing a 54 inch flat screen television that had been set into the wall. The room had a small table at the long end of the couch, and sleek cupboards had been built into the space above the sofa.

At full height, it held both of them standing without the need for Chloe to duck her head.

“Perfect for chilling, right?” Chloe asked and glanced back at her, seemingly happy with the look on Max’s face. “Just wait, Max. You haven’t seen nothin’ yet. C’mon!” she encouraged, leading Max back behind living room and past a fully decked out kitchen, which she didn’t even bother to comment on.

“This spot,” Chloe said, moving right past it. She pulled up short in a corner near a staircase.

Max stared at the stairs, gawking, but Chloe turned her around.

“Not that, Max! This!” she said, showing Max a quiet corner that had a desk and computer screen set into the wall. “I was thinking about this space for you. You could work on your photo stuff here. It’s got great lighting, and I could build you something to use for storage. What do you think?” she asked, giving her that hopeful look.

Max gawked, overwhelmed.

“You want to give me a space in your RV?” she asked, touched by the gesture, but so extremely confused and worried.

“Hell, yeah!” Chloe said like it should have been obvious. “We always used to talk about traveling the world, right? Is that… is it something you still wanna do, Max?” she asked shyly, for once seeming unsure as she regarded Max. “See, I’m working my way to look the part and play your bodyguard,” she said with a crooked smile.

It was so tempting to get lost in Chloe’s words and take them for what they were, to run away with her and Rachel and travel the world, but there were too many ghosts and too many questions, and Max never could leave well enough alone.

“Chloe, what’s going on with you?”

Chloe’s smile faltered, and it nearly broke her heart.

“What do you mean?” she asked, and the genuine confusion nearly gave Max pause.

“You know what I mean, Chloe!” Max blurted, frustrated, hoping and praying for some answers. “You beat up a guy who nearly kidnapped your girlfriend, and you waited six months to what? Buy an insanely expensive RV with his money? What’s going on, Chloe? And Nathan, you know he’s going to get back at you for this.”

Chloe stared at her for a long, long moment, as if waiting for Max to withdraw her questions and objections, but when she didn’t, Chloe shrugged, seeming to drop all pretenses with the simple gesture.

“I know,” came the calm response.

“So, where is he?” Max asked, wondering if Nathan was somewhere out there, beaten within an inch of his life.

Again, Chloe shrugged.

“Dead and buried.”

Max reeled, at first hearing the words in Jefferson’s voice. She grasped the strap of her bag, needing to know she could move her hands, and looked at her feet, to see for herself that she wasn’t bound. She shook her head, willing the phantom of Jefferson away, but when she stared at Chloe, she almost wished Jefferson had been there instead, because at least then she knew she was looking at a monster.

If Chloe was affected by her fright, she didn’t show it.

“Bet you’re wishing you weren’t such a snoop, huh?” Chloe remarked humorlessly, her posture so relaxed, so at ease, that Max could almost see her Chloe.

“No,” she whispered, reaching out for that fading trace of her Chloe, her hand instead finding purchase on an arm with muscles toned and skin painted with a colorful ouroboros.

“Sorry,” Chloe said, and it was hard to tell if she really meant it, only that she sounded tired. “Should’ve just lied.”

“No,” Max repeated, louder, with conviction, and squeezed Chloe’s arm. “Talk to me. Tell me everything. No lying.”

Chloe reacted, not with anger or bitterness like she would have expected, but with a sigh.

“What’s it to you, Max?” she asked, her voice hollow.

“What kind of question is that?” Max snapped, making Chloe look at her. “What’s it to me? What it is to me is that I’m your best friend. I’m your best friend, Chloe, and I care about you. No shit, I care about you. I care about you so much more than you can even imagine.”

Chloe simply continued to look at her, not taking the bait to argue or guilt trip her. Max let her hand fall away from Chloe’s arm, feeling like she had lost her best friend long before that.

“So, what now?” Chloe asked, sitting down. “Gonna tell Rachel? Call the cops?”

Max shook her head.

“Chloe,” she said, looking into those steely blue eyes. “I’m going to tell you something, something fucking crazy. I know what this place is. I know this barn belongs to the Prescotts, and I know there’s a bunker underground and it’s where Mark Jefferson took those girls, where he very nearly had Rachel if you hadn’t scared Nathan off.”

Chloe had no verbal response, but her eyes narrowed, suspiciously, almost dangerously.

“I know because I have--- I had these powers, and I don’t know how I ended up here, but where I came from, the world I knew, everything was different. Jefferson was still on the loose. Shit, he was my teacher, and I fucking worshipped him because I was a dumbass. You were still a Blackwell dropout, you and David didn’t get along, and you were still drinking and smoking weed.”

“And Rachel?” Chloe asked, again the only thing to get a reaction from her.

“Rachel,” Max murmured, wondering where to even start. “She’d been missing for six months when we met again. We were looking for her, and we found out that Nathan had something to do with her disappearance. Then we found this barn and Jefferson’s binders, and then Rachel, she---”

“She was dead, wasn’t she?”

Max nodded, but Chloe showed no shock or grief, only curiosity.

“You couldn’t save her with your powers?”

There was no accusation in the question, but Max still took a step back like she had been slapped.

“No. They didn’t work that way. I don’t know how or why I got my powers, just when. It was Monday, in the bathroom. You were trying to get money from Nathan to pay off Frank, but Nathan, he pulled a gun on you and fired, and then it happened, I got my powers. I went back in time and stopped Nathan from hurting you, Chloe, and ever since, I have done everything I could to keep you safe, from Nathan, from Jefferson, from this fucking fucked up world. I just didn’t want anyone or anything to hurt you anymore.”

Max turned away, feeling she no longer had the right to look at those pretty blue eyes.

“But I just kept fucking it up,” she went on, hands now clenched and trembling. “Every Goddamn force in this fucking universe was hellbent on taking you away from me, and when I thought I brought you back for good, it was still fucked up. There was a storm, and it was going to wipe out Arcadia Bay. I thought I caused it, that I screwed up time and space and fate and destiny so much that I created the storm. And the only way to fix it was for me to go back, and...”

“And let me die,” Chloe said when she couldn’t. “That why you were in the bathroom, Max? You were waiting for me to die?”

“I didn’t want to,” Max rasped out. “Chloe, I didn’t want to make that choice. You deserved better than to die in a dirty high school bathroom, alone, afraid and angry, thinking everyone in your life just let you down or abandoned you, thinking no one would miss you because it was the last thing you were told. You deserved better than that, Chloe.”

Chloe looked at her, and just shrugged yet again.

“I get it, Max. Needs of the many, right?”

Max sat down, feeling her knees start to give.

“Not that it matters,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I still fucked everything up somehow. My powers are gone, but the storm is still coming. Shit. Shit, listen to me. How can you believe any of this, Chloe? I sound ridiculous.”

Chloe leaned back against her seat, quietly watching her for a moment.

“You got your powers the first time I died, right?”

“Yeah,” Max answered without looking up, brows furrowing at the strange question.

“What the hell, let’s do it.”

“What are you---” Max started to ask, and instantly lost her voice when she heard the sound of a gun being cocked.

Chloe sat there, holding a gun to her own head.

“No!” Max cried out, reaching out for Chloe, but like before, she was too late.

The shot went off, and then time stopped.

 


	4. To Hell and Back, to Hell and Gone

_“Chloe…? Chloe, are you--- oh, my God, you’re awake! You’re awake!”_

_Amid Rachel Amber’s happy sobbing, Chloe opened her eyes. Rachel threw herself at Chloe in relief, touching her face as if to assure herself she was real._

_“I thought you were…” Rachel trailed off, unable to even bring herself to say it. “Your heart stopped, Chloe, you were--- but they brought you back. They brought you back just in time. I’m going to call the doctor, okay? They should know you’re awake.”_

_“No,” Chloe rasped, weakly grasping at Rachel’s wrist to stop her. “I need… I need to tell you something first, Rachel. If our friendship means anything to you at all, please listen to what I have to say.”_

_“Hey, hey,” Rachel murmured, stroking Chloe’s face. “It’s going to be okay, Chloe. I’m not leaving you. Here, you want a drink?”_

_With Rachel’s help, Chloe drank nearly a full of glass of water, all the while keeping her grip on her wrist._

_“Rachel, don’t go to Frank,” she said the moment she could talk. “I know you’ve been sleeping with him, and I don’t give a shit about that, okay? Just don’t go to him. If you need your fix that bad, then I’ll break out of here and get it for you. I’ll give you all the fucking crack you want, just forget about Frank.”_

_“I’m not sleeping with Frank,” Rachel denied, clearly offended. “Where the hell did you even get that idea, Chloe?”_

_“I just know, okay?” Chloe said, gently squeezing Rachel’s wrist and looking at her pleadingly. “And I don’t care if you’re banging him, I just care if you see him in the next few days because I don’t want you to get hurt.”_

_“You’re the one hurting me,” Rachel snapped, jerking away from Chloe. “And don’t lecture me. The last thing I need from you is a lecture after what you put me through. I’ve never been so scared in my life, I really thought you weren’t going to make it. Do you know how much I had to fight just to be here with you, to be here when you woke up? David would have run me out of town if he had his way! And now you’re doing this. Why?”_

_“Because I care about you, Rachel, I love you,” Chloe explained, like it was the easiest thing in the world to say. “I love you like you love Frank, and I know you’re never gonna feel that way about me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stop caring about you. I know I’m not worth a damn thing, but will you please stay away from Frank this week? For your own sake. He’s been having a shitty few days and I don’t want him to take it out on you.”_

_Rachel backed away, touching the wrist Chloe was holding._

_“You’re freaking me out, Chloe. I… I can’t deal with this. I’m calling for help.”_

_“Rachel, no,” Chloe pleaded, struggling to get out of bed. “Don’t go, please. They’ll keep me here longer if you tell them.”_

_“Maybe it’s better that way, Chloe,” Rachel said, already halfway out the door. “You’re being… I… I don’t know, but it’s freaking me out and I don’t know what to do. I’m sorry, I don’t. But they will, they’ll help you.”_

_Rachel left, just as Chloe finally dragged herself out of bed. She braced herself, waiting for her legs to steady, and stared at the open door._

_“Shit,” she sighed tiredly, and wobbled her way out of the room._

_Once in the hall, Chloe found the nearest window and jumped to her death. The next moment, she was back in her hospital room, waking up with Rachel Amber at her side, calling out to her._

_“Chloe…? Chloe, are you--- oh, my God, you’re awake! You’re awake!”_

* * *

_Chloe didn’t ask Rachel to avoid Frank, instead she waited for two days, when she was finally alone. She escaped from the hospital like she had done it before, knowing exactly where to hide, whom to avoid and when to do it, and then she snuck into the girl’s dormitories at Blackwell. Everyone but Rachel was in class, and Chloe met up with her just as she left her room._

_“Chloe? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in the hospital for a few more days.”_

_“Got out early,” Chloe said, waving off Rachel’s concerns. “Look, I know you’re gonna see Frank tomorrow. I’ll meet up with him and buy enough crack to last you a month.”_

_Rachel smiled, but it was strained._

_“That’s sweet of you, Chloe, but you don’t have to do that for me. I can get it myself when I see him. You want me to get you some weed? You can pay me back whenever!”_

_Chloe sighed, grabbing Rachel’s arm before she could walk away._

_“I know you’re fucking him, Rachel, and, whatever, good for you, just don’t do it tomorrow.”_

_“How do you know that?” Rachel asked, pushing Chloe’s hand away._

_“Just don’t see Frank tomorrow, alright?” Chloe insisted. “I overheard Stepshit talking to Officer Berry and Frank’s name was being tossed around. Sounds like Stepdouche has been tailing Frank and now the cops are pretty hot on his trail. I don’t want you getting caught up in it.”_

_Rachel looked surprised at first, and then furious._

_“You tipped them off, didn’t you? God, Chloe, I don’t belong to you, and you don’t get to fuck Frank over just because I chose him over you! Get out of my way, Chloe. Actually, get out of my life!”_

_Chloe tried to explain herself, but it was no use. Rachel was walking away, and when she was gone, Chloe just shook her head and went elsewhere._

_She easily broke into Nathan Prescott’s dorm room and took the gun he had hidden, knowing exactly where it was, and promptly shot herself in the head._

* * *

_This time, Chloe waited longer to escape the hospital, doing it on the day Rachel would meet up with Frank. She caught Rachel in the streets, but there was no reasoning with her._

_“I am sick of you, Chloe! I am sick of you hanging on to me like a fucking child, sick of being afraid of having other friends because you get jealous, and I am sick of being sorry for having a life of my own because you want my world to revolve around you and it doesn’t! It never did and it never will! I’m not your girlfriend, so stop treating me like I am! Is that why you OD’d? Because you found out about me and Frank? And now you’re trying to guilt me into leaving him so you can have me to yourself? God, you’re pathetic. No wonder Max dropped you out of her life when she left town; she probably couldn’t wait to get away from you!”_

_Chloe stood there, eyes never leaving Rachel’s, and took every biting insult Rachel threw at her like she deserved it. When Rachel crossed the street, she didn’t chase after her. She waited instead, ignoring the stares and murmurs from the people who had been watching them._

_At a green light, Chloe nonchalantly stepped into the path of a speeding semi._

_The next time she woke up, she waited to be discharged from the hospital. It was the same day Rachel Amber was supposed to die._

* * *

_Nathan Prescott ran and didn’t look back, leaving behind his car and Rachel Amber paralyzed in the passenger’s seat. Chloe came out of hiding, having made sure Nathan had no idea who had scared him off, and she carried Rachel all the way to her truck and took her home._

* * *

_Chloe stayed with Rachel until the drug wore off, and when it did and Rachel broke down, Chloe held her until she exhausted herself. A few hours after Rachel had fallen asleep, Chloe snuck out of the house through her window._

* * *

_At the Prescott barn, Chloe entered the bunker that Jefferson called his dark room. She began to gather evidence with impressive proficiency and precision, like she had done it many, many times already, and she did it while making sure not a trace of her would be found in the bunker or on the evidence._

_After she was done, she drove to the junkyard and texted Frank on Rachel’s phone, telling him to meet at her and Rachel’s spot._

_When Frank showed up, he looked worried, and then angry when he saw Chloe._

_“The hell are you doing here? Where’s Rachel? Do you have her fucking phone? Why the fuck do you have her phone? Where is she!” were his last words before Chloe killed him, shooting him with the gun she found in Nathan’s car._

_She buried his body exactly where Rachel would have been, had she died that night._

_Pompidou was happy to see her when she got in the RV. She drove it somewhere hidden and left food for Pompidou before going home, getting there before anyone in the house woke up._

* * *

_The police finished going through the evidence Chloe had anonymously sent them and Jefferson was finally arrested. Nathan Prescott was not implicated, the evidence against him safely hidden in a place only Chloe knew, and Blackwell announced that classes were suspended._

* * *

_“I don’t think I should tell anyone what he did,” Rachel mumbled, no longer able to say Nathan’s name, and buried her face in Chloe’s neck. “His family’s just going to make me look like a dumb, doped up bitch, and my family is going to disown me either way it goes.”_

_“Whatever you decide, I’m with you,” Chloe said, soothingly rubbing Rachel’s back._

_They lay still in quiet comfort on the bed, Rachel seeking to stay as close as possible to every part of Chloe. She had just woken up from a nightmare, and Chloe hadn’t let go of her since._

_“Chloe,” Rachel whispered, clutching a handful of Chloe’s tank, “I don’t want to live like this anymore. I don’t want to be controlled by that shit anymore. It’s not worth it, especially not my life. I want to quit, Chloe, I want to stop all the stupid shit we do.”_

_“Me, too,” Chloe agreed. “I’ll do it with you, Rachel. We’ll kick this together.”_

_“No more drugs, no more drinking, no more smoking,” Rachel said, taking off her blue feather earring and throwing it away. “No more bullshit, no more running away.”_

_“No more,” Chloe affirmed, “just you and me. Right here. Together.”_

_Slowly, Rachel looked up and held Chloe’s face in her hands. They looked at each other, neither breaking eye contact, and then Rachel moved, placing the softest, most chaste kiss on Chloe’s lips._

_“Thank you,” Rachel murmured, caressing Chloe’s face. “I think you just saved my life again.”_

_Later, they told Joyce and David, who were more than happy to help them, and allowed Rachel to stay at Chloe’s room for as long as needed._

* * *

_That night, Rachel was already itching for a fix._

_“You okay?” Chloe asked._

_“It’s not that bad,” Rachel lied, her hands twitching._

_“Girls,” Joyce called from the kitchen, “feel like helping me with dinner? It’ll give you both something to do, keep you busy.”_

_Chloe looked at Rachel, who nodded._

_“Sure, Mom, that’s an awesome idea,” she said, taking Rachel’s hand and going to the kitchen with her._

* * *

_Chloe woke up early, reaching for a cigarette that wasn’t there. She cursed under her breath, mindful not to wake Rachel._

_“Barely gets easier,” she muttered to herself, lightly pulling at her hair in frustration._

_She quickly got ready and went downstairs, catching David as he was getting ready for his morning run._

_“Oh. Chloe. You’re awake,” he greeted awkwardly. “Rachel up, too?”_

_“Nah,” Chloe said, taking a seat. “She’s been having a lot of trouble sleeping, so she’ll be out for a while. Hopefully, anyway. She needs to rest.”_

_David nodded, shifting nervously._

_“She does need it, yeah. And, uh, you? You sleep well?”_

_“About as well as it could go,” she replied. “Actually, I wanted to know if I could go with you, you know, on your run.”_

_David blinked, seeming unsure of what he heard at first._

_“That… I would really like that, Chloe.”_

_“Heh,” she grunted, smirking a little, “you’re gonna regret that when I slow you down. Seriously, though, I want to do this. I mean, not just with the quitting, but to do something more, and it’d be great if this morning run can be a thing for us. It’s driving me crazy just sitting around, so I figured if I had to do something to keep my mind off the shit, I might as well do something good and healthy for my fucked up body, and who else is better qualified to help me with that than a vet like you?”_

_“Chloe,” David murmured, looking like he wanted to reach for her but was stopping himself, “your mother and I promised to help you and Rachel through this, and I would love to help you in any way I can, so please, if you need anything else, just ask.”_

_Chloe managed a small smile, which David mirrored._

_“Ugh, we’re already being sappy shits and the sun’s not even up yet. So, how about that run?”_

_“Whenever you’re ready,” David answered, letting out a little chuckle, but when they both stood, he stopped her, daring to put a hand on her shoulder. “I, uh, want to say something before we go. Chloe, to be honest, you and Rachel really surprised us when you said you wanted to get clean. It’s just the start, but I’m already seeing so much effort from you, and I hope you keep it up. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you, for taking that first step, and I’ll do my damnest to help you both through the rest.”_

_“It’s about as worth as a father giving a shit,” Chloe said, looking at him, “which, you know, is probably worth as much as a stepfather’s. I think it’s something I can come around to.”_

_Despite his obvious efforts, David grinned like a fool._

_“Well, let’s get going. I’ll make a soldier out of you yet.”_

_“Hey, take it easy, man. Recent ex-smoker here.”_

_“Nothing some dedicated training can’t fix. Now move, soldier.”_

_“We’re not even out the door and you’re already going drill sergeant on me, seriously? Alright, I’m going, I’m going. I mean, sir, yes, sir!”_

* * *

_Chloe was already up when Rachel came out of one of her worst nightmares, catching her before she fell off the bed. Rachel screamed hoarsely and pushed her away, eyes wide and unfocused._

_“Don’t touch me! Don’t fucking touch me!”_

_Joyce and David were quickly at the door, but Chloe held up a hand, telling them to stay back. She got up from the floor and stood, making sure Rachel could see her._

_“You’re okay, Rachel. You’re in my room, see?” she said, carefully sitting at the edge of the bed. “It was a bad dream. Just a bad dream. You can move, right?”_

_Rachel gazed down at her hands, seemingly awed that her fingers moved. She looked back at Chloe, and then at the distance between them. Chloe opened up her arms and Rachel quickly crawled over to her, tucking herself against Chloe’s body._

_Joyce and David exchanged worried looks, but quietly took their leave._

_“He’s not here,” Chloe whispered to Rachel once they were gone. “He can’t get you, he won’t ever get you again.”_

* * *

_Rachel paced the room, clenching and unclenching her twitchy hands._

_“I don’t know how long I can do this,” she said, looking at Chloe, who was sitting on her bed with her laptop. “It feels like it’s been a hundred fucking years and I don’t feel any better. When is it going to get better? I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, all I want is to get a Goddamn fix. When is it supposed to get better?”_

_Chloe closed the lid of her laptop, pushed it away, and slid to the edge of the bed. She listened to Rachel intently, letting her rant for as long as she wanted._

_When Rachel was done, she sighed and dragged her feet over to the bed._

_“How are you doing it, Chloe?” she asked tiredly, sitting on Chloe’s lap and combing her hair. “You seem so… I don’t know, like you’ve got it together, and I’m this ugly mess.”_

_“You’re not a mess,” Chloe said, wrapping an arm around Rachel’s waist to support her. “You’re just overthinking it, which, you know, sounds like you because you think too much,” she lightly teased, and then offered a piece of gum from the nightstand._

_“Isn’t that your last one?” Rachel guessed. “I can’t take that. You need it more.”_

_“I’m not the one who hasn’t eaten all day,” Chloe pointed out, unwrapping the gum and holding it up enticingly. “C’mon, it’s cherry, your favorite.”_

_“You know that’s not really food, right?” Rachel played along, already smiling._

_“Hey, it’s better than nothing,” Chloe said, grinning when Rachel took the gum without using her hands. “Oh, and you know what else you need? A bath. A nice, warm bath. Sound good, doesn’t it? I’ll even carry you there.”_

_“Hmm,” Rachel hummed, gently squeezing Chloe’s arm, “you are starting to get a little muscle now. Think you can handle it, stud? Carry me all the way to the bathroom? That’s like… fifteen feet away, ooh, so far.”_

_Chloe laughed, clearly amused with the challenge._

_“Oh, it’s on,” she said, slipping her arms under Rachel’s back and legs and standing up with ease. “Hah! Look at that, didn’t even flinch. Helps that you weigh like nothing, too.”_

_“Just for that, you’re cooking for me,” Rachel declared, getting comfortable in her arms, “after you give me a bath.”_

_Chloe smiled, holding Rachel closer._

_“I can do that.”_

* * *

_Rachel stared at the same line she had been reading for the past hour. She blinked, struggling to focus, but the words refused to register. Her hands trembled, the already weak grip she had on the book starting to slip._

_“Fuck,” she hissed, furiously trying to blink away the tears. “Damn it. Goddamn it. God fucking damn it!”_

_She threw the book at the wall just as Chloe walked in, and when Chloe immediately pulled her into a hug, she let out a pitiful whimper and buried her face against Chloe’s shirt._

_“Stupid fucking book, stupid fucking words,” she ranted, nails digging hard into Chloe’s arms. “Stupid fucking me.”_

_“Leave it for now,” Chloe murmured, her voice so calm and soothing._

_“But I need to read it now,” she whined unreasonably, “I need it for this… for this stupid fucking homework thing, gotta email it before midnight.”_

_“We’ll take care of you first, then the homework, okay?” Chloe said, not even flinching when Rachel continued to claw at her._

_“I hurt you,” Rachel mumbled after a while, stopping when she realized it._

_“I can take it,” Chloe assured her._

_“I’m sorry,” Rachel whispered, finally letting herself cry. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”_

* * *

_Chloe dropped to the bench like dead weight, greedily gulping down an entire bottle of water._

_“Good workout,” David praised as he approached her._

_“Yeah, well, with you, sir,” she quipped, now hunched over and trying to catch her breath, “it’s either a good workout, or I’d still be busting my ass.”_

_“Exactly, soldier,” David affirmed, regarding her fondly. “Keep it up and you’ll be going toe to toe with me before you know it.”_

_“That’s the plan,” Chloe replied gamely, raising her now empty water bottle at him as though it were a wine glass._

_David chuckled, sitting next to her and grabbing his own water bottle._

_“We’ll going to have to work around your school schedule when your classes are back on,” he said, “but it shouldn’t be too hard. I’m tied up this weekend, though. I have to be there to supervise the surveillance installation.” He shook his head, and then muttered in disgust, “Can’t believe it took that asshole Jefferson for Wells to finally give me the okay on that. We may have saved those girls and put that prick behind bars sooner.”_

_“It’s pretty fucked up. Rachel was in his class, she could have been one of those girls,” Chloe growled fists clenching. “David, teach me to fight. Please. If something like that ever happens to me, I don’t want to be stupid and helpless and hoping for someone else to come save me.”_

_David looked at her with wide eyes at first, and then his shock turned into guilt and shame._

_“Chloe, is this about the times that I…”_

_“What? No,” Chloe was quick to rebuff. “It’d be hella weird to ask you for help if it’s to defend myself against you. Well, I guess it would be smart, but I’d probably try to be, you know, less in your face about asking you and make up some bulllshit reason.”_

_“I’m sorry,” David rasped out, and then cleared his throat and looked at her. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, his voice clear. “I’ve been a terrible stepfather to you from the start. It doesn’t matter that I had good intentions or that I had my own shit to deal with, I was wrong to ever hurt you and even more wrong to blame you for it. I’m not making excuses and I’m not asking for your forgiveness, but it’s important that you know I was wrong, and that I know it, too.”_

_Chloe shook her head, disagreeing._

_“Dude, David, don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? I was a shit and I was asking for it.”_

_Seeming to react on instinct, David placed a hand on Chloe’s shoulder and grasped tightly._

_“Listen to me, Chloe,” he said, completely serious, “don’t ever think that about yourself, alright? I’m the adult, I should have handled it better. Look at you now, look how much better you are, and it started from you, not me or your mother, but you.”_

_“It was Rachel,” Chloe pointed out, giving a half-hearted shrug, “and the two of us wouldn’t be able to do shit if you and my mother weren’t helping us. Most people would have thrown out a couple of dumbass teenagers in a heartbeat.”_

_“Most people aren’t your parents, Chloe, aren’t your family,” David said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Now, you know I’ve made no secret about what I think of Rachel. That girl very nearly destroyed you, but she’s come around and she brought you back to us. That girl is working herself to the ground trying to beat this, and if her family doesn’t want anything to do with her, then it’s their loss. I get it now; she’s a huge part of your life, she’s important to you, and I’m seeing why that is with my own two eyes.”_

_Chloe looked back at David, and when they both started to smile, she groaned._

_“God, David, what’s wrong with us? Can’t we spend ten minutes together without getting gross and mushy?”_

_“I think it’s a good thing, but we should probably still see that family therapist, like we promised your mother.”_

_“Dude. You promised her, don’t drag me into this! Come on, we’re doing okay! We’re talking, we’re getting sappy, and you’re gonna teach me how to kick ass! If that’s not bonding, I don’t know what is!”_

_“You are relentless when you set your mind on something, aren’t you? Alright, I’ll think about it, and then I’ll talk to your mother and we’ll decide.”_

_“That’s half a yes, woo!”_

* * *

_That weekend, Chloe went to her and Rachel’s hideout with Pompidou. She fed him and began to pull out the notes and client lists she had gotten from Frank, along with a stash of disposable phones she had bought with his money._

_She picked out a specific phone from the pile, turning it face up just as a message came in._

_‘Yo, where at this time? This new drop bullshit you do is retarded. Why can’t you just deal at Two Whales and Blackwell like you used to?’_

_Chloe snorted, quickly typing out a reply and sending it._

_‘You don’t like it, then piss off and find your shit somewhere else.’_

_‘Jesus, calm down, I was just asking a question. Yeah, I’m still in. Where at?’_

_‘Grocery store later this afternoon. Don’t even think of screwing me out of my money. Just because you don’t see me don’t mean I ain’t watching you. Do not fuck with me.’_

_Chloe checked the other phones and updated her books, finishing up before Pompidou was done with his early dinner. She began to put everything back the same way she had taken them out, and when she was done, she reached for another hiding place, coming away with the product she intended to sell._

_Casually pocketing it, she pulled out her real phone and called Rachel._

_“Hey, Rachel, just checking in. You having fun with Mom?”_

_“Yeah, Joyce is awesome! And she says hi! Oh, and she wants to know if you’ve done the groceries.”_

_“Just got outta the gym a while ago, but on my way there now. How you feeling, Rachel?”_

_“Better. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but right now I feel good. I’m feeling really good, Chloe. And clean. And happy. I miss you, though. Can’t wait to see you at home.”_

_“Me, too. I’ll see you soon. Tell Mom I said hi back.”_

_The call over, Chloe put her phone away and popped a fresh stick of gum in her mouth. Seeing Pompidou looking at her, head tilted curiously, she smiled and patted his head, making his tail wag._

_“You’ll see her, too, boy. Not today, but soon.”_

* * *

_“Here ya go, Alma, bacon and eggs, courtesy of Joyce!” Chloe cheerfully announced as she and Rachel brought the meal to the homeless woman, who smiled at the sight of them._

_“Courtesy of Joyce and Chloe,” Rachel said, affectionately touching Chloe’s arm and looking proud. “She’s the one who cooked this for you, Alma.”_

_Alma laughed, amused with them._

_“Well, thank you, Chloe, I’m sure you cook as well as your mother does.”_

_“Way to set yourself up for disappointment, Alma,” Chloe joked, handing the woman the tray._

_“Hey, you made my breakfast and I loved it,” Rachel pointed out, which made Chloe snort._

_“Yeah, ‘cause you were getting a free meal.”_

_“Shut up and take a compliment.”_

_Alma chuckled when Rachel pinched Chloe, who squeaked._

_“So nice to see you girls so happy,” she said, smiling at them. “Been a long time coming for you both.”_

_“Aww, c’mon, Alma, you don’t have to say that shit, the food’s already free,” Chloe quipped, receiving another pinch from Rachel. “Ow! Jesus, okay, I’m leaving before you bite me or something. Gotta head back to Mom, anyway. See ya, Alma!”_

_Rachel gave Chloe a kiss on the cheek and sent her off._

_“I’ll keep you company, Alma,” Rachel said, grabbing a stool to sit on._

_“Thank you, dear,” Alma replied gratefully, her gaze lingering on Chloe as she went back in the diner._

* * *

_“Yo, David, need a hand?” Chloe asked as she entered the garage, finding David elbow deep under the hood of the muscle car._

_“Only if you’re done with your homework,” David responded playfully, lifting his head up to shoot her a smile. “If you are, hand me the wrench.”_

_“You and your rules, man,” Chloe said, handing him the wrench. “Yeah, I’m all done. Rachel’s doing a group Skype chat; she kicked me out when I wouldn’t stop bugging her.”_

_David chuckled._

_“What were you doing?”_

_“Pinching her.”_

_“Pinching her?”_

_“Hey, she started it,” Chloe reasoned, which just made David laugh. “Anyway, need any help?”_

_“I’d love it,” he said, stepping aside to let her have a look under the hood. “Still trying to figure out that problem with the transmission that we had last week.”_

_“Maybe it’s a problem with the sensors,” she mused, taking a look herself. “Hm.”_

_Hours later, as they were taking a much deserved break, Chloe asked David a question._

_“So, I saw today that Auto Repair had a job opening. Was thinking of giving it a shot. What do you think?”_

_“A job?” David parroted, his surprise quickly turning hopeful and prideful. “You know your stuff. I know you’ll get it. Long as you don’t neglect school, I don’t see why not, and I’m sure your mother will agree with me.”_

_“I got school covered,” Chloe assured him, looking at the muscle car and then back at David. “And I was thinking, when I start getting some money, that we could work on fixing up my truck a bit more. I know you can help me out with that now, but I kind of want to earn it myself, you know? My truck, my money.”_

_“I get it,” David said, smiling like a proud father._

_Chloe smiled back, clinking soda bottles with him._

_“Thanks. And thanks for not getting sappy with me.”_

_“Anytime.”_

* * *

_Chloe opened one eye when she felt Rachel shifting in bed, seeing her leaning over with a curious look._

_“Something on my face?”_

_“Hm,” was Rachel’s only answer, hand casually resting on Chloe’s slightly exposed midsection. “You know, you’d look really good with a piercing… right here.”_

_“My eyebrow?”_

_“Uh-huh, and maybe a nose stud.”_

_“And, what, a tongue piercing? And another tat?”_

_“Mmm, yes.”_

_Chloe chuckled, wide awake now, and wrapped an arm around Rachel._

_“You know, that’s a hella awesome idea,” she said, grinning. “Let’s do it. Just because we’re kicking the bad shit out of our lives doesn’t mean we can’t be punk rock anymore.”_

_“Yeah,” Rachel agreed, nuzzling her neck. “Got a tat in mind? Another sleeve?”_

_“I think so. You mind doing the design?” Chloe asked._

_“Mind? I mind that you’re asking me at all,” Rachel said in mock anger. “I thought that was my right.”_

_Chloe snorted, but she was still grinning._

_“Oh, so you own me now.”_

_“Making my way to it,” Rachel purred, “just have to leave a few more marks on you.”_

_“Go to sleep, Rach,” Chloe laughed, “you’re going all alpha on me again.”_

_Looking smug, Rachel snuggled up to Chloe and closed her eyes._

* * *

_While doing her nightly check up on the girls, Joyce found Rachel sleeping alone in bed. She went downstairs, seeing that the lights in the living room were on, and found her daughter sitting at the table, listening to music while working on her laptop._

_“Chloe?” she called out, prompting her daughter to pull off her headphones._

_“Hey, Mom, what’s up?” she asked, already going back to work. “Just trying to finish my homework. Didn’t wanna wake Rachel. You check on her? She’s sleeping, right?”_

_“She is,” Joyce said, approaching the table and taking a seat. “It’s late, Chloe. Are you going to be done soon? You need rest, too.”_

_“Trying,” came Chloe’s distracted answer. “Took an extra shift at work, so kinda playing catch up with the homework. Don’t sweat it, though, I got this, just gonna need more caffeine to stay up during class tomorrow.”_

_“Don’t be pushing yourself too hard now, you hear me?” Joyce said, reaching over to grasp her daughter’s arm. “You keep going like this and you’re bound exhaust yourself. I know you feel like you have plenty to make up for, Chloe, but you don’t owe us a thing. It’s more than enough for us that you and Rachel are doing so much better now. You, especially, Chloe. I know you’re so sick of hearing it, but I am so, so proud of you.”_

_“I know, Mom,” Chloe mumbled, looking up from her laptop. “And I want to help, not just because I feel like I owe you, even if I do, but because I wanna, you know? I mean, it’s your house, but I live in it, too, and I use the stuff in it. Why shouldn’t I help pay for the shit I use if I can? So, lemme do it, Mom. It’s my money, I earned it. Least I could do, especially since you let Rachel stay here.”_

_Joyce smile, squeezing her daughter’s arm._

_“Rachel is always, always welcome in this house, Chloe. It’s our pleasure to have her here, to have you both here,” she said, and suddenly laughed. “Well, when you two start dating, we’ll have to set up a few new rules, like no more sleeping in the same bed.”_

_“Oh, my God, Mom,” Chloe groaned, covering her face with her hand. “Can we not have this talk?”_

_“Oh, we’ll have this talk, Chloe. Maybe not today, but someday, whether you like it or not,” Joyce teased, laughing again. “I see where you and Rachel are going, the way she looks at you, it’s the look of a girl finally realizing she’s completely smitten, and it’s only a matter of time before you two do more than just sleep in a bed.”_

_“Trying to do homework here, Mom,” Chloe grumbled, fixing her eyes back on her laptop._

_“I’ll fix you a snack and a drink as an apology,” Joyce said, making her way to the kitchen with a smile on her face. “Now, what can I do with those dreadful-tasting healthy things you and David love to eat…”_

_A few minutes later, Joyce placed a plate and a glass next to Chloe, who looked up at her with a thoughtful expression._

_“Hey, Mom, I’m thinking of fixing up the house a little bit. You know, when we have the money to spare. Nothing big or expensive, but maybe finish painting it, or start over and do a new color, maybe change the floors. And some of our shit is really old and gross, I could probably restore them or, I dunno, make ‘em from scratch, whichever’s cheaper, and David’s gonna wanna help, sure of it. I mean, I’m not as good as Dad was, but it’d better than the shit we’re putting up with.”_

_“Oh, my baby, my baby girl,” Joyce nearly sobbed, throwing her arms around Chloe and holding tight. “Yes. Yes, we can do that, we can definitely do that, just like what you and your father used to do.”_

_“Yeah,” Chloe murmured, letting her mother just hold her. “Well, he did most of the work back then, I was just his annoying little assistant who asked too many questions.”_

_“That is not true at all,” Joyce insisted, pulling back to cup Chloe’s face. “Don’t think I wasn’t paying attention when you two were lost in your own little world whenever you got to woodworking. Oh, Chloe, I see so much of your father in you. You’re so much like him, you don’t even know.”_

_With tears in her eyes, Joyce leaned in and kissed her daughter’s forehead._

_“I’m heading up. You hurry up with your homework, alright? Don’t want to worry Rachel now. Good night, darling.”_

_“I will,” Chloe said, her voice soft. “Night, Mom.”_

* * *

_The night before Rachel’s birthday, she and Chloe stayed out late and went to the park, where they found a new hideout after exploring the nearby thicket._

_“By the lake,” Rachel decided the moment she saw it. “That’s it, Chloe, our new getaway.”_

_Chloe grinned, held out her arm for Rachel, and escorted her to the tree nearest the lake. She pulled out the army knife David had given her._

_“Time to stake our claim. Birthday girl first,” she said, offering it to Rachel, who happily took it._

_“Not my birthday yet,” Rachel playfully pointed out, “but thank you,” she added, kissing Chloe on the cheek before getting started with carving on the trunk of the tree._

_Chloe waited for Rachel to finish, watching her as she worked, and then followed suit when she was done, carving her words a line above, just as it had been in their old hideout._

_“There, all done,” she said, pocketing the army knife._

_‘Chloe was here,’ read the first line, while the next said, ‘Rachel was here.’_

_Rachel regarded it approvingly, pressing a palm over the words Chloe had carved. Smiling, she took Chloe’s hand and led her to sit by the lake._

_“Nice view,” Chloe murmured, looking towards the water._

_“Very,” Rachel agreed, snuggling up to her._

_“Hey,” Chloe called softly after a comfortable, quiet silence, “it’s midnight. Happy birthday, Rachel.”_

_Rachel looked up, staring into Chloe’s eyes, and slowly leaned in, kissing her on the lips. She lingered, long enough to let herself pull Chloe’s beanie off and thread her fingers through Chloe’s blue hair in earnest._

_“I love you, Chloe Elizabeth Price,” she whispered when she finally pulled away, her hands caressing Chloe’s face. “You’ve saved my life in more ways than you think, and you’ve never once asked for anything in return. You’ve seen at my worst, at the lowest, hardest point of my life, and you didn’t judge me. You’ve seen all me, every side of me, good and bad, and you still look at me like…”_

_“Like you’re my angel?” Chloe whispered back, her blue eyes so intense and expressive. “Because you are. You’ll always be. I love you, Rachel. I’ve loved you since the day you came into my life, and I’ve only loved you more every day that followed.”_

_Rachel surged forward, pulling Chloe into another kiss and crying happily when Chloe finally kissed her back._

_When they parted, Rachel rested her forehead against Chloe’s and laughed softly._

_“That was the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten,” she said, smiling so brightly she seemed to glow._

_Chloe smiled back, tenderly wiping away Rachel’s tears, and this time, she was the one who initiated the kiss, to Rachel’s obvious delight._

_“Think I can keep you for the rest of your birthday?” Chloe asked when the kiss ended, her smile so charming._

_“You can try,” Rachel said, lovingly tracing Chloe’s lower lip with her thumb, “while you’re at it, try to keep me for the rest of our lives, too, hm?”_

_“Yeah,” Chloe murmured, her smile turning into a grin, “yeah, I can definitely do that.”_

* * *

_“You two are dating now? Ew.”_

_Chloe and Rachel stopped kissing against the lockers, finding Victoria Chase openly judging them, and, without saying a word to her, they continued to make out._

_“Ugh, gross. Just when I thought you couldn’t get any lower, Amber!”_

* * *

_“When are we going to tell them they’re so obvious that even Rachel’s parents know?” David asked Joyce after the girls retreated to Chloe’s room, “and, mind you, they talk to her once every two weeks and their conversations last for two minutes tops. I have the text messages to prove it. Listen to this, ‘Mr. Madsen, our most recent contact with our daughter has led us to suspect that she may be romantically involved with your daughter. Please respond ASAP so we can discuss how to best handle this circumstance. Regards, Mr. Amber.’ Can you believe this? And what kind of prick talks about his daughter like that?”_

_Joyce laughed, taking David’s hand and leading him away from the stairs._

_“We will in due time, David. For now, let them have their fun, let the teenagers think they’re outsmarting the adults, better with this than what they used to do.”_

_David sighed._

_“I suppose, but if they start having sex, we are sitting those two down and having a long talk with them.”_

* * *

_Chloe fired off her last shot, the bullet hitting the center of the target. Grinning, she yank off the earplugs and exited the shooting stall, joining David, who had been watching her._

_“Saw that last shot? Was perfect!” she gloated, only encouraged when he chuckled._

_“Saw that and all your other shots,” David said as he took the gun from her, regarding at her with something akin to disbelief and pride._

_“Madsen!” a man exclaimed as he approached them and tossed an arm around his shoulders. “This your kid? She’s a damn good shot! You been taking her hunting or just taking her to other ranges and hiding her from me?”_

_“Hey, Carl,” David greeted back, nodding at Chloe. “This is Joyce’s kid---”_

_“Chloe,” she introduced herself to the man, interrupting David. “And David’s married to my mom, so that makes me his kid, too. Anyway, ‘sup?”_

_David stared at Chloe, slack jawed, and looking about to burst with happiness._

_“Yeah,” he echoed. “This is my kid. I didn’t take her hunting, you know I don’t do that shit anymore, Carl, I’m done with it.”_

_“Done for good?” Carl snorted, shaking his head. “The things we do for women. No offense, kid.”_

_Chloe shrugged at the man, but looked appreciative of the apologetic look David gave her._

_“This is the first time she’s ever been in a range, Carl,” David said, pushing the man’s arm away. “Her technique needs work but you can fix that with training. She’s a damn natural, is what she is.”_

_“Yeah, she is,” Carl agreed, unperturbed by David’s hostility. “So how about we set her up a membership here?”_

_David looked at Chloe, who grinned._

_“That would be hella awesome.”_

* * *

_“Hey, Rachel, still being a dyke?”_

_Rachel, holding hands with Chloe, went visibly tense at the voice. Chloe reacted immediately, wrapping her arm around Rachel’s waist and holding her close while she turned to glare at Nathan Prescott._

_“Piss off, Prescott,” she snapped, her free hand already balled into a fist and trembling with barely restrained rage._

_Nathan threw his head back, cackling._

_“Oh, this is rich. You trying to prove you’re more of a man than I am, Price? You think you’re better than me?” he taunted, taking a step forward. “Rachel’s going to get bored of you eventually. She’s going to leave you for a man, a real man, and you know it.”_

_“I know you need a fat lip is what I fucking know, and I’m gonna give you one,” Chloe snarled, nearly lunging forward, only stopped by Rachel._

_“Babe, no---” Rachel started to say._

_“What the hell is this?” Victoria demanded, hurrying over and stepping between them. “Calm your punk dog, Amber, if you don’t want her kicked out of the school again.”_

_“Hah, yeah,” Nathan gloated, but his voice was shaky from the earlier scare. “I own this fucking school, dyke, and if you mess with me again, you’re so gone and there’s no way they’ll take your sorry ass back again. Actually, here, hit me so Rachel doesn’t have to put up with you anymore.”_

_Nathan and Victoria left, laughing, and Rachel had to hold Chloe back until the two were out of sight._

_“Easy, Ellie,” she murmured, wrapping Chloe’s arms around her. “We agreed, remember? Not worth it. I can handle it as long as you’re with me.”_

_“Okay. Okay,” Chloe rasped, holding Rachel tight, but her eyes were still fixed on Nathan._

* * *

_Chloe entered her room, finding Rachel sitting on the floor with Pompidou on her lap._

_“Got the dog stuff,” she announced, sitting with the pair and putting a stuffed paper bag in front of them._

_Rachel watched Chloe rummage through the bag while a fond smile._

_“Your mom and stepdad are so awesome, babe. First they take me in, and now Pompidou,” she said, looking down at the happy dog on her lap. “I’d take him myself if I could, but they don’t allow dogs in the dorms.”_

_“Rach, you practically live here, you pretty much did take him in yourself,” Chloe pointed out, finding a chew toy and handing it to Pompidou, who happily took it. “He’s pretty well trained, so Mom shouldn’t mind him running around the house, but I’ll make him a dog house to put in the yard so---”_

_Rachel didn’t let Chloe finish, dragging her close for a long, languid kiss._

_“You are wonderful,” Rachel purred, looking so smitten._

_“Well,” Chloe drawled, grinning, “if you let me finish, I was gonna say make him a house so we can kick him out of the room when we’re, you know, doing more than making out. Not that I’m not happy with the making out.”_

_“Still wonderful,” Rachel said, kissing Chloe again. “Babe, you believe me, right? That I just found him at the diner, and that I didn’t see Frank?”_

_“Why wouldn’t I?” Chloe asked, moving to sit beside Rachel._

_“I don’t know,” Rachel mumbled, biting her lip. “It kind of sounds like a lie.”_

_“Is it?”_

_“No.”_

_“Then it’s not,” Chloe said, putting an arm around Rachel. “I believe you, babe.”_

_“Just seems weird that Frank would abandon Pompidou,” Rachel remarked as she scratched behind Pompidou’s ears. “I thought he really cared about him.”_

_“You thinking of calling him?” Chloe asked, and Rachel shook her head._

_“I don’t know where he is, what he’s doing, and I don’t care. If he sees either of us with Pompidou and wants his dog back, then he should come to us himself.”_

_Chloe nodded, cuddling Rachel as much as she could with Pompidou in the way._

_“You know,” Rachel said after a while, “I don’t think anyone’s seen Frank in months. Justin told Dana that he does this drop thing now, and he’s starting to sell some other shit. You’d think he can afford to take care of a dog with all the money he must be making from that.”_

_“Think you know a guy,” Chloe muttered._

_“Yeah,” Rachel agreed, nuzzling Chloe’s neck. “I’m so glad we’re clean now, babe, that we don’t have to deal with that shit anymore.”_

_“Me, too, Angel.”_

* * *

_A man stumbled, and then scrambled back to his feet and ran into an alley._

_“Agh, shit!” he cursed, tripping again, and clutched his leg, now bleeding from a gunshot wound._

_Footsteps came to a stop in front of him, and he looked up just as the barrel of a gun was aimed at his head._

_“C’mon, kid,” he begged, “I was just playing with you, I wasn’t really gonna skip town with your money! Just wanted to see what you were made of, you know? You gotta be made of tough shit in this kind of work, and-and you proved it!”_

_There was no verbal response, only the safety being flicked off._

_“Shit, c’mon, what else do you want to say? That I have a family?” the man whimpered, clumsily pulling out his wallet to show pictures of his kids. “See? See! I’ll pay you back, d-double it, even, you don’t gotta kill me.”_

_“Yeah, I do,” was the simple answer, and the trigger was pulled, the shot silent._

_Chloe Price stood over the body of the man she had just killed, and with the same nonchalance, she began to walk away. His murder, like many others, would go unsolved._

* * *

_“So, I was thinking, for this party, we should totally--- Rachel? Rachel, are you listening to me?” an aggravated Juliet asked._

_“Nope,” an amused Dana answered for Rachel, who was in bed with Chloe and giggling in her arms._

_“You are,” Rachel cooed, slipping a hand under Chloe’s top. “See?”_

_“You calling me fat?” Chloe asked, grinning wickedly before gently biting Rachel’s already bruised neck._

_“No,” Rachel giggled again, shamelessly groping her girlfriend in front of her friends. “I’m saying you’re getting ripped and it’s so hot. Isn’t she hot, girls?”_

_“Seriously!” Juliet cried out in exasperation and proceeded to gesture at Dana for help._

_“It is kinda hot,” Dana unhelpfully agreed._

_“Dana!” Juliet squawked._

_“What? I’m just being honest!” Dana retorted. “She’s a skater, has this nerd brain and this punk style and--- ugh, okay, listen to me, I’m gross. We’re spending too much time with Rachel.”_

_“What is with you two, anyway?” Juliet demanded, walking over to the couple and putting her hands on her hips. “You’re worse than you usually--- oh, my God, you finally had sex, didn’t you?”_

_Rachel, who had been making out with Chloe, finally came up for air, but Juliet was still steadfastly ignored._

_“We should go shopping,” she purred at Chloe, “get you new clothes. I’ll pick them out.”_

_“Hella yeah,” Chloe murmured, pulling Rachel back for another kiss._

_Juliet threw up her hands in defeat._

_“You sleep with her once and now you want to pick out her clothes? Jesus, Rachel, why don’t you just marry her already!”_

_“Oh, don’t be so hard on her,” Dana chided, smirking at Juliet. “You were no better.”_

_“Dana, stop talking.”_

_The couple eventually got out of bed, still very much attached._

_“You guys coming?” Rachel asked. “We can get the stuff you need for the party.”_

_“You’re so smart,” Chloe said, voice low and husky. “I have the best girlfriend ever.”_

_Still completely engrossed with each other, they were already out the door before they got an answer._

_“So, was she actually listening to me, or am I that predictable?” Juliet asked, looking at Dana._

_“That is a trick question and I’m not falling for it,” Dana said, grabbing Juliet’s hand and following the two out._

* * *

_On a late night, while walking home from work, Chloe was approached by one of her contacts, the man unaware that he was working for her._

_“Hey, you’re that Price kid, aren’t ya?” he asked, recognizing her for the wrong reasons. “You know Frank, right? Used to be buddies with him, you and I. Heard you really like weed. So, how about it? I’ll give you a good deal for the initial purchase.”_

_“I’m off that shit now,” she said, walking away from him, “find someone else.”_

_“Oh, yeah?” he taunted, cornering her. “How ‘bout that slut of yours? I heard things about her, too.”_

_“Fuck off,” she growled, shoving him. “She’s clean, so leave her the fuck alone.”_

_“Whore like that?” he said, scoffing. “They always come back. I can have that slut bending over for me, just like Frank did.”_

_Chloe stopped walking, seemingly trying to calm down, but when he laughed, she whipped around and punched him in the face._

_“You’re a piece of shit, Mike,” she snarled, yanking him up by his hair and then punching him again. “You don’t get to say that shit about my girlfriend and walk away.”_

_“H-how the fuck do you know my na---”_

_She hit him again, this time in the throat, and then again and again, his face, his neck, anything within reach, with all her strength, and when she finally stopped, he wasn’t moving anymore._

_“Ah, fuck,” she sighed to herself, and began to drag the body away before someone showed up._

* * *

_“I’m proud of you,” Rachel murmured against Chloe’s neck._

_“Hm?” Chloe replied lazily, comfortable and happy just cuddling with her girlfriend in bed._

_“With Max,” Rachel clarified, closing her eyes. “I know how much it hurt you when she left and didn’t keep in touch. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you were upset. She didn’t even try to contact you to tell you she was going to Blackwell, but you were so sweet and understanding to her.”_

_“I’m sure she had her reasons, and it’s not like I couldn’t have reached out to her, so it’s not all her fault,” Chloe reasoned, rubbing Rachel’s naked back. “Besides, I wasn’t alone for five years. I had you, and you’re still here, with me. I’m hella lucky, if you ask me, so I don’t know why I should be giving Max shit for anything.”_

_“She’s happy to have you back in her life,” Rachel said, smiling, “and just in time, too, isn’t her birthday coming up soon?_

_“It is, yeah,” Chloe answered._

_“Have a present in mind for her?”_

_“I’m thinking of giving her Dad’s old camera.”_

_Rachel stared at Chloe in awe._

_“I think she’d love it,” she murmured, “and I think I love you even more right now.”_

_Chloe chuckled._

_“See? Lucky me.”_

_Rachel was quiet, closing her eyes and pretending to sleep, and when Chloe had drifted off, she caressed Chloe’s face._

_“If anyone’s lucky,” she whispered, snuggling back up to Chloe and sighing, “it’s me.”_

* * *

_In her junkyard hideout, Chloe had just made a purchase using the laptop she bought with her drug money._

_She grabbed her phone, anticipating the incoming call._

_“Babe? Yeah, on my way home. Pompidou took a detour, sorry about that.”_

_Tossing Pompidou a treat, Chloe shut off the laptop and hid it. She grabbed Pompidou’s leash and left the junkyard with him._

_In a few weeks, Joyce and David were going to think they won free cruise tickets._

* * *

_Victoria Chase stormed off in a huff, utterly humiliated by Rachel, who had used nothing but words to get her away from Kate Marsh._

_“Thank you,” Kate said gratefully, who then blushed when Rachel hugged her._

_Chloe had watched the whole thing with a smile on her face, looking so in love with Rachel._

* * *

_By contrast, Chloe’s idea of telling Logan to practice safe sex was to push him down and repeatedly stomp on his crotch._

_“You got it now?” she asked when he had enough._

_“Oh, yeah, I got it,” he said, giving her a pained smile and a thumbs up. “Good talk, dude.”_

* * *

_Using one of her disposable phones, Chloe contacted Nathan, showing him all the evidence she had that implicated him in Jefferson’s crimes._

* * *

_Staying hidden, Chloe waited for the Blackwell guard to leave the surveillance room. As soon as he was out of sight, she broke in, having no trouble with the lock, and sabotaged the cameras in the school._

* * *

_“Babe?” Rachel called out, having woken up alone in bed._

_“I’m here,” Chloe said, closing the door and climbing back in bed with Rachel, kissing her in apology. “Sorry, had to go to the bathroom.”_

_“Mmm,” Rachel responded sleepily, relaxing in Chloe’s arms. “What time is it? Do you have to go soon?”_

_“Almost three,” Chloe murmured, closing her eyes. “Gotta go running with David early ‘cause of their flight.”_

_“Okay. Make a little more time for Max today, okay? She seemed really off yesterday,” Rachel said, idly tracing Chloe’s tattoo._

_“I will. I promise.”_

* * *

_When the mouthy trucker hit the ground, Chloe noticed that Alma had seen the whole thing._

_“Sorry you had to see that, Alma,” she said._

_Alma nodded, frowning and whispering to herself, “I’m sorry, too, kid.”_

* * *

_Chloe found Rachel preparing breakfast at the counter and hugged her from behind._

_“You know what’d be better than that,” she whispered against Rachel’s neck._

_“Mmm, what?” Rachel purred._

_“You.”_

* * *

_“Here’s the keys to the barn and the RV,” Nathan said in a shaky voice, tossing both keys on the ground. “Where’s my shit?”_

_Chloe walked over to pick up the keys, and then approached Nathan, who backed away a few steps until he stumbled. She carelessly threw a thick envelope at him, which he immediately dug through and checked._

_“You better not have made any fucking copies of these, dyke,” he spat, gathering it all up as he stood._

_“Got what I want, don’t have a reason to,” she said with a shrug._

_He sneered at her, though couldn’t quite look her in the eye._

_“You fucking freak me out, Price. Stay the hell away from me.”_

_As he began to walk away, Chloe casually fixed a silencer on her gun and shot him in the leg._

_“Ack! What the fuck! You fucking shot me, what the fucking fuck!_

_“Yeah. Yeah, I did,” Chloe drawled, walking over and aiming the gun at Nathan’s head. “And I’m going to kill you. I’m going to kill you the same way you would have killed Rachel.”_

_“W-what the fuck are you talking about?” he whimpered, clutching at his bleeding leg. “She’s not dead, you psycho, the fuck are you tripping on!”_

_Chloe smashed the barrel of the gun into his mouth, effectively shutting him up. She reached into her jacket, revealing several filled syringes._

* * *

_Standing outside of the Prescott barn, Chloe sent Max its address and told her to meet there._

* * *

_Chloe greeting her with a smile and a hug._

_Chloe showing her the RV and giving her a tour._

_Chloe talking about traveling the world with her and Rachel._

_Chloe admitting to killing Nathan and giving her a chance to leave._

_Chloe holding a gun and looking at her._

* * *

“Whoa, Max!”

The voice registered first, and then the feeling of falling, her body limp and unresponsive. Max pitched forward, towards the floor, but the impact never came. Instead, she saw a flash of blue and black, and she landed in Chloe Price’s arms.

“Sorry,” she heard Chloe grunt. “Thought you’d be okay sitting down.”

Max let out a shaky breath, weakly clutching at Chloe’s solid, comfortable body. Her head spun, her mind feeling like it had been split in half. She felt winded, like she had been holding her breath for far too long, like she had been ripped out of her own body and violently pulled back in.

Chloe shifted, adjusting them both to a more comfortable position. Max relaxed when Chloe finally stilled, soothed by the steady beating of Chloe’s heart.

“Better now?”

Max froze, remembering where she was and what was going to happen.

“Where’s the gun?” she demanded, hands searching Chloe’s body before she even got an answer. “Where is it, Chloe?”

“Huh,” was Chloe’s strange response. “Got your powers back, Max? Did you just use them? You weren’t acting any different the past month, so I thought it didn’t work.”

Max met Chloe’s eyes, having found nothing. Chloe nodded to the side, where the gun lay on the floor. Realizing that Chloe had dropped it to catch her, Max turned back to her best friend, whose words finally sunk in.

“I don’t know what the fuck that was,” she said, still feeling a little light-headed. “You fired the gun, and then everything stopped and it went black. Then, I saw you in the hospital. Rachel was there when you woke up. You tried to stop her from going to Frank, and then you… jumped out of the window and you… went back...” she trailed off, cupping Chloe’s face in her hands to be sure she was real. “Chloe, how did this happen? When did this start?”

“You were there, Max,” Chloe coolly pointed out. “Bathroom, Prescott pulling a gun on me and shooting me, remember? I bled out, died, and then I woke up in the hospital.”

“So, whenever you…” Max faltered, unable to bring herself to say it, “you just go back and wake up in the hospital?”

“Hah, yeah,” Chloe chuckled, actually amused. “Guess the universe got sick of my dumb ass dying all the time, huh? Or thinks it’s funny. Or maybe it just wanted to save you the trouble. First time it happened, I freaked out when I saw Rachel. Tried to warn her, she didn’t believe me. When she went missing again, I figured, fuck it, see if I can try that again, and it worked. So, did you get front row seats to the last six months of my life?”

Max could only shake her head, replaying in her mind the times she had watched Chloe kill herself. She had seen Chloe fall and hit the ground, had seen her pull the trigger of Nathan’s gun, had seen the semi drag Chloe a few blocks and watched her bleed to death on the road.

“I didn’t see everything,” she said absently, trying in vain to will the images away. “I just saw these… glimpses. It’s like, one minute, it’s you talking to David about getting a job, and then it’s you talking to Joyce about fixing up the house, and then it’s you and Rachel in the park the night before her birthday. It wasn’t like that for you?”

Chloe snorted.

“Nah, gotta stay for the whole show. Gets hella old doing the same homework over and over.”

“Chloe,” Max whispered, pained by her best friend’s nonchalance, “how many times have you gone back?”

“Enough to get me where I am now, Max,” Chloe said, shrugging, “and you know what a fuck up I am, so, yeah, you get the idea.”

“God, Chloe,” Max swore, burying her fingers in Chloe’s hair and pulling her closer. “How can you just do that to yourself over and over?” she asked, wanting to badly to scream at her best friend for carelessly throwing away the life she fought to save in many realities, but she couldn’t, not when she had done the same at the end.

Chloe looked at her, a heartbreaking picture of apathy.

“You get used to it.”

“You get used to it,” Max repeated, almost letting out a bitter laugh because she certainly never did. “Dying four times, you get used to it? Having to quit smoking again? You said it barely got easier. Rachel hurting you over and over? You get used to that?”

“Saw all that, huh?” Chloe said, still frustratingly unfazed.

“Chloe, you killed people!” Max snapped, grasping Chloe’s face. “You killed Frank, you killed a man begging for his life, you beat another man to death because he was saying stupid shit about Rachel, and the way you killed Nathan... you can’t tell me this isn’t messing with your head.”

Chloe stared at her for a long time, and when she didn’t look away, Chloe leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing at her.

“That what you think, Max?” she muttered, a dangerous edge in her voice. “That I killed Frank, Prescott and those dealers because I’m messed up? What, you think I didn’t mean it, that I’m sorry? That make you feel better about me, Max? Maybe I wanted to do it. Maybe I’m just a fucking asshole. Ever considered that? I killed Frank, I took his business, his dog and his woman. Sounds like an asshole thing to do to me.”

“Bullshit!” Max snarled. “Fine, don’t talk to me, don’t tell me why, but I’m not buying this. You died three times, Chloe, three fucking times, trying to stop Rachel from seeing Frank. How many times have you gone back? How many? And you still try! You didn’t have to save her, you didn’t have to help her, you could have left her to her douchebag family, but you didn’t. You took care of Pompidou when you could have abandoned him, hell, when you could have killed him. And you sent Joyce and David on that cruise so they’d be safe from the storm. You did all that when you had no reason to, Chloe, so stop bullshitting me.”

Chloe sighed, looking so tired, so worn and beaten down.

“Stop trying so hard to make excuses for me, Max. I know I look like her, but I’m not the Chloe you knew, so quit forcing it. I deal drugs, I’ve killed people, and the shitstorm that’s about to hit the town is my fault, too, isn’t it? Guess what, I don’t give a shit. I’ve been having dreams of that storm and I haven’t done a Goddamn thing to save this town. Get it, Max? What you’re looking for, it’s not there. She’s not here. I’m not her.”

Max, unable to listen to another heartbreaking word and fearing how true it may be, threw herself at Chloe and kissed her. She closed her eyes and it felt like it was Friday again, that she and Chloe were at the lighthouse, sharing one last kiss, and it wasn’t enough. So she kissed Chloe again, and again, and again, until she couldn’t breathe.

It was only when she opened her eyes, when she saw Chloe, rigid, pale and wide-eyed, that she realized what she had done.

“Fuck. Fuck, Chloe,” she cursed, quickly letting go of her best friend and stumbling away to give her space. “Fuck, I’m so sorry,” she said, and in a desperate bid, she held out her hand and attempted to rewind.

Two things happened then. Time shifted around her, evidenced by the gun on the floor moving back to where Chloe had been sitting, but Chloe herself remained where she was, completely unaffected by her power.

Max stopped and stared at her hand, and then looked at Chloe.

“Guess you can’t take that back,” Chloe mumbled, getting off the floor and picking up the gun. “Looks like I can add cheating on my girlfriend to that why-I’m-an-asshole list.”

“Chloe, I’m so sorry,” Max whispered pleadingly, warily eyeing the gun in her best friend’s hand. “Don’t, please. I don’t want you going through all that again, Chloe, I’ve hurt you enough.”

Chloe sat, elbows on her knees and her head down.

“I think you should leave, Max,” she said quietly, putting the gun away. “I kinda wanna be alone.”

Max stood there, not knowing what to say or how to help, and like five years ago, she turned around and left Chloe behind.

There was only one person who could save Chloe now, and it wasn’t her.

* * *

Next thing she knew, Max was sitting in a bus seat as the vehicle drove farther and farther away from Chloe. She stared out the window as the bus pulled into town, watching the people pass on by.

A mother tugged her little girl by the hand, pulling her away from a Halloween decoration while a group of teenagers conversed in the local cafe. Down the street, a family of five argued over what pumpkins to pick from the crate.

None of them knew that their decisions might be the last they ever made.

As if somehow led by her morbid thoughts, the bus pulled up near the beach and stopped. Other passengers started gawking, and when Max looked out the window, she saw that the shore was littered with dead whales.

Max went cold, and with a second additional jolt to her heart, she realized she was still wearing Chloe’s jacket.

Dread and paralyzing fear weighed her down. She struggled to her feet, and as soon as she managed, she ran off the bus and just kept running, because she might have completely frozen over if she stopped moving, and she refused to be another bystander in this godforsaken town.

Max ran until she arrived at Chloe’s house, and then she nearly took out the door, which turned out to be unlocked and let her in after some desperate floundering. She raced into the house and found Rachel in the living room.

“Max?” Rachel asked, looking up from her phone.

“Rachel, we have to talk. It’s about Chloe.”


	5. Heaven’s No Place to be Without Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max's nightmare in the chapter is inspired by the unused audio of William and Chloe. Thank you to chloepriceprotectionsquad on tumblr for sharing them!

“Max, what is it? Where’s Chloe? Is she hurt?” Rachel asked frantically, already seeming to be on the verge of tears. “I haven’t seen her since third period. I went home straight after Juliet’s interview because I thought she’d be here by now. But she’s not here, she’s not at the shop, she’s not at the diner, and she isn’t answering my calls or texts. Do you know where she is, Max? I’ve been so worried.”

Max grasped Rachel’s arms, feeling that she would need the support. When she spoke, she tried to keep her voice calm.

“I know where Chloe is, Rachel. She’s not hurt, but… but there’s something you need to know.”

“What?” Rachel asked, her voice breaking and her eyes tearing up. “What is it? Oh. Oh, my God,” she gasped, looking horrified when she seemed to realize something. “Is it about… about him? She went after him again, didn’t she? How bad was it, Max?”

Max faltered, and briefly, she considered lying, but knew Rachel wouldn’t believe it. Instead, she raised her hand and rewound.

“---she’s not here, she’s not at the shop, she’s not at the diner, and she isn’t answering my calls or my texts. Do you know know where she is, Max? I’ve been so worried.”

“I was just with her, Rachel,” she told her this time, hoping it would reassure her.

At first, Rachel’s face lit up, but it didn’t last, her expression now crestfallen.

“She’s talking to you, but not me?” Rachel whimpered, completely distraught. “She hasn’t left me any messages or calls and it’s been hours. I’ve never gone this long without seeing her or hearing from her since… since…” she trailed off, eyes widening. “Did you tell her about Frank and...? Oh, God, that’s why she’s ignoring me. That’s it, isn’t it? Let me talk to her, Max.”

Before Max could get a word in, Rachel managed to get her phone from her pocket and attempted to call Chloe. After several tries, Rachel was inconsolable but refused to stop, and Max was forced to rewind again, this time even further, before she walked in the house.

Back outside, Max took a deep breath before going in. She found Rachel sitting in the living room, completely fixated on her phone and looking agitated.

“Hey, Rachel,” she gently called out.

Rachel looked up and broke into a smile.

“Max!” she exclaimed, standing up and hugging her. “Where were you? Is Chloe with you?”

“I had tea with Kate,” Max lied, and mentally apologized to Rachel for her next lie. “Chloe’s not with me, though. I’m sorry.”

The moment she said it, Rachel seemed to sag against her.

“Oh,” Rachel mumbled, her voice small. “Well, I’m glad you’re here, Max. I haven’t heard from Chloe in hours and I’ve been driving myself crazy worrying about her.”

“Actually,” Max quickly said, not wanting Rachel to dwell further on Chloe. “I have to tell you something, Rachel, and we should probably sit down for it.”

* * *

Proving her powers to Rachel went much like how it did with her Chloe, and just the same, Rachel believed after a few rewinds. She had said exactly what Rachel would say, word for word, shown Rachel a piece of paper in her own writing that read exactly the same, and after that, Rachel was sitting across her, completely convinced.

“Why are you telling me this now, Max?” Rachel asked, glancing at the identical pieces of paper she held in her hands.

“Because I just got my powers back,” Max said, meeting Rachel’s questioning eyes, “and I got them back because of Chloe.”

“Because of Chloe?” Rachel echoed, confused but immediately put on edge at the mention of her girlfriend. “What does she have to do with this, Max? And what do you mean you got your powers back? So you had them before and just lost them? How?”

“Rachel...” was all Max managed to say at first, unsure of how to start. “You know how I’ve been acting strange all week? It’s not because of the contest. I’ve been acting strange because I’m not the same Max you’ve hung out with for the past month. It’s hard to explain, and I’m still not sure how it works, but I guess one way to put it is that I’m from a different reality.”

Rachel nodded, encouraging her to continue with a softly spoken, “Go on.”

“Where I come from, Nathan… he…” Max paused, reaching across the table to hold Rachel’s hand. “He got you, Rachel. Chloe hadn’t been there to save you, and you… you were---”

“Dead?” Rachel finished for her, smiling sadly. “I always knew that’s what would have happened to me if Chloe hadn’t been there. She didn’t just save me that day, Max, she brought me back to life.”

Max nodded, having seen it for herself.

“So, in this… other reality, how did you find out about me?” Rachel asked. “Was he caught? Did you still meet Chloe in school?”

Max shook her head, wishing it had been as simple as Rachel thought.

“He was working with Jefferson, Rachel,” she said, squeezing Rachel’s hand when she saw the horror and realization set in. “He idolized Jefferson, even let him use this bunker owned by his family. He tried to impress Jefferson, and he was obsessed with you, but he didn’t know shit and he… he gave you too much, OD’d you. Then he just--- he just took you to the junkyard and buried you there.”

“What? Where Chloe and I used to hang out?” Rachel mumbled, her voice shaky. “And that was how I was found? Oh, God, was Chloe the one one who found me, Max?”

“It makes me sick to tell you this, Rachel, but Nathan and Jefferson almost got away with it,” Max said, reaching out with her free hand to take Rachel’s other hand, which had started trembling. “The police eventually gave up the search for you, everyone just assumed you were dead or hoped you made it to LA by yourself. Everyone just gave up, Rachel, everyone but Chloe. She was hurt, and she was angry, but she never stopped looking for you, even when she thought you abandoned her, even when she found out about you and Frank.”

Upon hearing Frank’s name, Rachel bowed her head, looking ashamed.

“Even when she found out that I was just using her?”

“That’s how I met her again, and how I first got my powers,” Max said, wanting to get away from any talk of Frank. “I was in the bathroom, and then I saw this blue butterfly. I followed it, took a picture, then Nathan came in, talking to himself. Chloe showed up next and they argued, and then Nathan pulled out a gun, and… and he shot her. I didn’t even know it was her when it happened, because I was a coward and put off calling her even when I had been there for a month. When I heard the shot, I was too late; all I could do was hold out my hand like an idiot, and then… then time stopped, and suddenly, I was back in class.”

Rachel sucked in a breath, looking like she had just been struck.

“You’re telling me you got your powers because she died? Did you save her, Max? If you have your powers again, does this mean she’s--- did she get hurt, Max? Oh, God, did she go after him again?”

Max grasped Rachel’s hands tightly, looking at her pleadingly.

“Chloe is okay, Rachel. I was just with her. I lied to you earlier because you need to hear all of this before you go to her.”

“You lied to me?” Rachel murmured, settling back on her seat. “You had to rewind, didn’t you?”

“I tried to tell you the truth at first,” Max admitted, looking apologetic. “But you got so flustered, even the time I didn’t mention him, so I thought it would be better to tell you about my powers first. I’m sorry.”

Rachel needed a moment, but she eventually nodded.

“It’s okay, Max. I’ll listen, but please take me to her after.”

“I will,” Max promised, hoping Rachel would fare better with Chloe. “I hurried out of class and went straight to the bathroom. When Nathan and Chloe came in, I hit the fire alarm. After that, I ran into Chloe again at the parking lot, and together, we continued to look for you. Eventually, we found the bunker at the Prescott barn, found Jefferson’s binders and saw those pictures he took of you. Then,” she paused, now whispering, “then we found you. Chloe was devastated, Rachel. If you ever doubt how much she loves you, just know that, even in a life where you were going to leave her behind with Frank, she loved you.”

“These days, Max,” Rachel said, a faraway look in her eyes, “all I ever doubt is if I deserve her, now more than ever.” She sighed, and then shook her head as if to gather her bearings, and asked, “What happened after that? Did you call the police?”

“I fucked up a lot on the way, but Jefferson was arrested,” Max reassured Rachel, foregoing the details that would do more harm than good. “None of it really mattered, though, because it turns out, using my powers created this huge storm, and it was going to destroy the town. The snow, the eclipse? All that happened in my reality, too, and it lead up to the storm. I had a choice to make, let Arcadia Bay get destroyed, or go back to Monday, before I got my powers, and… and let Chloe die.”

“Oh, my God,” Rachel uttered in horror, understanding what she meant.

“So, I chose,” Max went on, unable to look Rachel in the eye anymore. “I made a choice I didn’t even want to make, and then I was back in the bathroom. And I waited, and I waited, but when Nathan showed up, it was different. Then, I saw you, and I thought that maybe the gods or whatever gave me my powers decided to stop being assholes and made a perfect world where innocent girls didn’t have die and be forgotten. But I knew it was too good to be true, that it was bullshit, because it still snowed, the eclipse still happened, so it means the storm is still coming.”

“But you only just got your powers back,” Rachel said, catching on. “The snow and the eclipse happened before that. Is this some kind of skewed time travel thing?”

Instead of answering, Max looked up.

“Rachel,” she began, “Chloe texted me after I left your room this afternoon. She told me to meet her at the Prescott barn. When I got there, she showed me this stupid expensive RV that she made Nathan buy for her in exchange for evidence that implicated him working with Jefferson. She was planning to get out of Arcadia Bay with us, Rachel, because she knew about the storm. That cruise Joyce and David are on? She was behind that, and she did so they wouldn’t be here.”

“How could she know…?” Rachel asked, brows furrowed.

“When I got my powers, I kept having these visions of the storm,” Max explained, and saw then in Rachel’s eyes that she understood. “When I let Chloe die, she got the powers instead,” she confirmed, “and she saw it, too, then planned to get everyone she loved out of Arcadia Bay.”

“So, she told you about her powers?” Rachel guessed, confused. “Why? Because you were in the bathroom?”

“No,” Max said, shaking her head. “I told her about my powers, how I got them, and then she… she pointed a gun at her head and shot herself. I got my powers back, and her own powers pulled me in, and I saw how hers worked. When she... dies, she goes back to six months ago, after she accidentally OD’d. That’s why everything was different when I went back. It’s why you’re alive, Rachel, it’s how she was able to save you after God knows how many tries. She told me the first time she went back, you went missing again, and she killed herself, just to see if it would work, just to see if she could have another chance at it.”

“How,” Rachel stammered, seeming afraid to ask, “how many times has she…?”

“Too many,” Max answered grimly. “Too much. I only saw glimpses of it, little bits and pieces here and there, but Chloe? She has to live through every second of those of six months every time she went back,” she said and shook her head, remembering that all Chloe had to say about it was that doing the same homework over and over was a chore. “Frank is dead, Rachel,” she went on, “he’s been dead for months now. Chloe killed him after she saved you. She’s taken over his business, and I’ve seen her kill two dealers, one because he tried to steal from her and the other because he said some things about you. And Nathan? She killed him after he handed over the keys to the RV.”

“No,” Rachel rasped, looking at her pleadingly and silently begging her to take it all back. “I thought… I really thought we were both okay, that we’re both better now. I thought I made her happy.”

“Rachel, she cares about you so much,” Max said, her grip on Rachel’s hands tightening, not wanting either of them to give up on Chloe. “If there’s only one good thing left in her, one thing that even she can’t deny, it’s that she loves you. She wouldn’t talk to me, completely shut down on me. But I know she’ll talk to you, Rachel, and I think you can get through to her.”

Rachel looked away, far from confident of her chances.

“If she killed Frank, then she must know about him… what I did, what he did.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason she killed him,” Max said bluntly, remembering what Chloe had said to Nathan before she killed him. “What I do know is that she thinks you don’t love her as much as she thinks you love Frank, that you’re only with her because you can’t be with him. Even then, Rachel, I watched her kill herself three times trying to talk you out of seeing Frank that day. She tried to stop you three times, and if she’s gone back so many times she must know she’d always fail, but she keeps trying. She loves you, Rachel, even if she thinks you don’t love her back.”

“Three times?” Rachel whispered incredulously. “And I didn’t listen to her? Not once? What did I do, Max? What did I say to her?”

“You… you weren’t yourself when it happened,” Max replied evasively. “It seemed like you hadn’t seen Frank for a while, and you had to fight David just to be at the hospital with her, so you were stressed---”

“Max,” Rachel cut her off pleadingly. “What did I say to her?”

Max sighed.

“The first time, she was completely honest with you, she said she knew about Frank, and that she knew you’d never love her the way she loved you, but that didn’t mean she’d stopped caring about you. She asked you not to see Frank, and it freaked you out that she knew, so you called for the doctor and left her. I guess whatever happens after that, it’d be too late to save you, so she… jumped out a window. The second time, you accused her of ratting Frank out to David because she was jealous. She broke into Nathan’s room after that and used his gun to shoot herself. And the third time…”

“Max.”

“The third time, she caught you in the streets. I think you were on your way to Frank and she barely got to you. You flipped out on her really fast. You told her you were sick of putting up with her, how you hated how clingy and possessive she was, and you called her pathetic, asked if she of OD’d on purpose because she found out about Frank. Then you said that it made sense why I left her, that I probably couldn’t wait to get away from her.”

“Oh, God,” Rachel whimpered, both hands seeking the bullet necklace and grasping it tight. “How can she even stand to look at me after that? Who knows what else I’ve said to her? Max, take me to her, please. I need to see her.”

Max nodded, having intended to do just that from the start.

They took Chloe’s truck and drove to the Prescott barn. By the time they got there, night had fallen, and Chloe and the RV where nowhere to be seen.

Rachel stood in barn, walked to the fresh tire tracks on the ground and fell to her knees, sobbing. Max quickly ran to her and held her as she cried, the only thing she could do. Above them, two full moons loomed in the night sky.

* * *

_"Haven't you done enough, Max? You let me die again, and for what, just to do the same thing to my little Chloe? Look at her now, Max, look what she's become because of you. And you, you kept Rachel away from her. You did it on purpose, didn't you? Because you're jealous. You've always been jealous of Rachel. She could’ve saved my baby, Max, but you didn't even give her a chance. First me, then Rachel. Must you take away everyone my daughter loves before you kill her? That's just what you're going to do, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah, dude, do it. Even easier this time, right? I wasn't worth it before, but now? Now there's nothing to save, you saw it yourself. I die, the town lives, and you get to be a hero. You can even get the girl. I know you're into Rachel, and with me dead, you can go for it. She's a hot mess, but you know that, it's totally your type."_

_“Do it, Max. Kill my daughter. You already did it once when she asked, what’s another time?”_

_“It’ll stop the storm. Probably. I mean, you were wrong before, but you’ll take the chance if all you have to do is kill me again, right?”_

_“Let my daughter be with me, Max. You’d finally be doing something right, and you can’t hurt her anymore.”_

_“C’mon, Max. I’m sick of going back and doing the same shit over and over. Dude, I’m so tired. I’m so tired of changing the world and changing myself just so somebody would love me.”_

Max opened her eyes and lay there, staring up at the bare ceiling and clutching the blanket that didn’t offer her any warmth.

She stayed there for a long time, not yet daring to move, but as she lay there with her eyes wide open, the echoes in her head refused to quiet, and her heartbeat barely slowed.

Swallowing hard, Max braced herself, and then sat up. She tossed off the blanket and stood.

Chloe’s pristine room surrounded her, and Max began to feel trapped. In a sudden rush, she sprinted for the door and grasped the handle frantically, turned it, and lurched as she threw all her weight against the heavy wood.

The door gave way, and Max almost fell, but as it finally shut behind her, she breathed easier with the neat room sealed away.

Max shook herself and headed downstairs, finding Rachel sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over her phone and trembling.

“Rachel,” Max said, relieved to see someone familiar, but when her friend looked up, she saw bags under Rachel’s reddened eyes. Her friend’s well-kept hair was a tangled mess, and her skin, unusually pale.

Max’s attention took an immediate, drastic turn.

“Oh, my God, are you okay?”

“I can’t find her,” Rachel said, looking stricken and beat. “I’ve looked everywhere; I drove around town, went to all our hangouts, the diner, the park, the school, the junkyard. I even went to the places she hates. She’s gone, Max,” she whimpered, voice hitching. “She left me.”

Max hurried to Rachel and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, kneeling so that they were eye level.

“That’s not true, Rachel. Chloe isn’t gone,” she insisted, pushing back the haunting whispers of her most recent nightmare. She reasoned with the distraught girl. “If she was, we wouldn’t be here, because she would have rewound and changed everything, but she didn’t. We’re still here.”

“Then where is she, Max?” she asked desperately, jaw trembling.

“I don’t know, Rachel,” Max said, squeezing her friend’s shoulder as her chest ached. “I’m sorry I don’t. I wish I did so bad, but we can’t give up. I have to believe we still have a chance, that she’s giving us a chance.”

Rachel whimpered and stood with her, gluing herself to Max in a trembling hug, which Max returned.

“I want to hold her, want her in my arms, Max,” she whispered, voice cracking.

“I know. I know, Rachel,” Max said, holding her tight in her arms for her friend’s sake. She held Rachel and didn’t let go, even after the trembling subsided and the whimpers quieted.

Rachel laid her head down on Max’s shoulder, and Max stiffened with the return of the cold echoes of her nightmare.

_She could’ve saved my baby, Max, but you didn't even give her a chance._

“I’m sorry I kept you from her yesterday,” Max apologized in the quiet moment. She shut her eyes tight, feeling heavy. “I should have taken you to her sooner.”

Rachel finally pulled back from the hug, prompting Max to look into her hurt hazel eyes.

“That wasn’t your fault, Max,” Rachel said, voice steady, despite the emotion that had overcome her just a few moments ago. “It wasn’t. Chloe could’ve driven away as soon as you left her.”

“I’d have stayed with her,” Max answered, feebly trying to defend herself, even though Rachel wasn’t accusing her. “But she asked me to leave. I was upsetting her…”

Max cringed and looked away, guiltily recalling how she had kissed Chloe and put them into that awkward state, but then warm fingers touched her chin and guided her gaze back.

“You did everything you could, Max,” Rachel said, voice gentle and soothing. “I don’t blame you; I was a fucking mess yesterday, and that was before you told me everything. I just can’t stand being away from her, not knowing where she is... I’d have fucked it up, made it worse, maybe even scared her for good. You did the right thing, Max.”

Max folded against her, trembling as her strength gave out.

“I’m... I’m just worried about her,” Rachel murmured, gripping her warmly. Her arms weren’t like Chloe’s; they were thinner, shorter, and lacked the strong muscle tone her best friend had, but as the slender arms squeezed her, Max felt safe and comforted. “I try to imagine being in her place, going through all that over and over, what I do to her again and again... She must feel so alone, and God knows how long she's felt that way.”

“We’ll find her,” Max said, squeezing Rachel back. “We have to.”

Rachel held her for a long moment, not moving, and Max didn’t want her to. She almost pulled Rachel back when her friend began to step away.

Max shifted back, awkwardly aware of their close proximity as lingering whispers of her nightmare returned.

_She's a hot mess, but you know that, it's totally your type._

“Um… wanna make some breakfast?” she asked as Rachel swiped up her phone from the kitchen table to check it.

“Okay,” Rachel murmured, distancing from her as she made her way to the refrigerator, eyes buried in her phone.

Max followed her and opened the freezer, removing a package of frozen sausages while Rachel grabbed the eggs and cheese out of the fridge. Max made it to the stove first and began pulling out the pans, glancing at Rachel out of the corner of her eye.

“You wanna sleep while I do this?” Max asked, because her friend really didn’t look well. “I’ll wake you up if she calls.”

“I can’t,” Rachel said simply, putting the phone down on the counter next to her pan to work in close proximity to it. “I can’t sleep without her.”

Max lowered her head, feeling a little worse for asking.

“Can’t even think without her,” she said, shaking her head as she deftly cracked the eggs into the pan. “Can you think of anywhere else she’d go?”

“I don’t think we’ll find her until she lets us, Rachel. You looked all night, and you didn’t find her,” Max told her honestly, and then cringed when the color drained from Rachel’s pale face. “I think she’ll call or answer eventually,” she quickly said, not wanting to give her friend another meltdown, “but that’s up to her.”

“I can’t just wait and do nothing, Max,” Rachel said, pleading with her.

“You’re not,” Max said, doing her best to soothe her friend. “Keep calling her, Rachel, you're our best shot at reaching her.”

Rachel touched the phone in her pocket and brought it up to check it again. She redialed Chloe, almost forgetting about the eggs, and she deflated when her girlfriend didn’t answer yet again.

“Maybe she’d answer your phone,” Rachel suggested.

Max didn’t think so, but she handed her phone to Rachel anyway, trying to think of anything else that would soothe her friend.

In the midst of calling Chloe from her phone, Rachel’s finally rang, and Rachel nearly knocked the whole pan over as she grabbed up her phone from the counter. Her face fell when she looked at the screen, and Max’s high hopes crumbled with it.

“Dana,” she answered, crestfallen.

“Rachel, what in God’s name are you thinking?” Juliet’s voice came through the receiver. “You want us to change the venue of the party the day of? Do you know how insane that is? Everything’s already set up at the pool! And where the hell is this place, anyway? I couldn’t find anything on the internet about it, and google maps just gives me a street view of this old barn in the middle of nowhere. What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to give me a panic attack?”

Rachel looked at her, and it was as if Chloe had died. She held out the phone to Max.

“Can you handle this?” she asked, voice meek.

Max took the phone from her, and Rachel went back to the kitchen table, hunching over Max’s phone as she redialed Chloe again.

“Juliet, it’s me,” Max said into the phone.

“Max, you’re there, too? What happened to Rachel? She better not be making out with Chloe while I’m freaking shit over here.”

“Not exactly, um… ”

“Oh, my God,” Juliet said like she was having a revelation. “Did they start having sex with you right there?”

“No, Juliet. Chloe’s not here---”

“She’s not there?” Juliet asked before Max could say anything else. “Where is she? And where’d Rachel go if she’s not making out with Chloe? If she’s avoiding me because of this party venue thing, you can tell her she’s got it coming, because there’s no way we can change the location.”

Max stiffened, inhaling sharply.

“You can’t?”

“Absolutely not. What, do you think I have super powers? Even if you’d booked a palace, it’s way too fucking late! Invitations have already gone out, posters are up, and people are expecting not to need DDs! You can’t fuck with that, Max!”

Max closed her eyes and saw the storm as it obliterated the town.

“Juliet, you have to try,” she said into the receiver, struggling to keep her voice level. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but please. This is really, really important. I need you and Dana to get the word out to everyone you can, and to help with this. Please, trust me, Juliet.”

“Max, c’mon, don’t guilt me like that, suddenly becoming all serious. Do you know how much everyone will turn on me if I try to take away the Vortex pool? It’s like social suicide.”

“I wouldn’t ask this on a whim, Juliet,” Max said, pleading, but retaining her calm as best as she could. “Please help me move the party. I need you and Dana.”

On the other end of the line, Juliet groaned.

“You gotta be kidding me, Max.”

“I’m sorry I’m not,” Max said honestly.

Juliet made some anguished noises, waiting for Max to take it back, but when Max didn’t, she growled.

“Fine! I’ll talk it over with Dana, but if we actually do this and it blows---”

“It won’t,” Max promised.

“Fine,” she muttered again, not sounding happy, “but where’s Rachel? She’s not getting off that easy, and I mean that both ways.”

Max looked at the kitchen table where Rachel clutched the cell phone dearly, mesmerized with the call back button. It didn’t even look like she had heard the exchange Max had just had.

“Juliet,” Max said, flinching. “I’m sorry you didn’t hear all this from Rachel, but she’s having a really hard time right now. Chloe’s not here, she and Rachel had a fight.”

Max heard a thump, and then a few seconds later, Juliet’s shocked voice.

“What? Is she okay? What happened, Max? One to ten, how bad was it?”

“Eleven,” Max answered, and Rachel didn’t even look over, but Juliet gasped.

“Do you need me and Dana to come over?” she asked anxiously.

“Not right now,” Max said with a shake of her head. “She’s in bad shape, but I’m keeping her company. We’re trying to find Chloe.”

“She’s missing?” Juliet gawked, and Max cringed.

“I can’t tell you details, but we’ll probably stop by the school later, and then you might be able to help. Don’t panic, okay? Just… if you see Chloe, call us right away, okay? If not, I just want you to focus on getting the party together. It’s really important, Juliet.”

“Okay, Max, I can do that,” Juliet said, sounding a lot more cooperative and willing, “but are you sure you don’t want me to wake Dana and send her over? She’s like a relationship guru.”

“I know, but not yet, Juliet. I don’t think she can listen right now.”

“Alright…” Juliet said, sounding reluctant to hang up now. “We’ll call if we see Chloe. I’ll fucking blow up that bastard’s phone till she answers,” she added vehemently, then paused. “Take care of Rachel, okay, Max? Be careful.”

“I will, Juliet. Thanks for everything,” she said and hung up.

Sighing, both relieved and conflicted, Max faced the girlfriend in question, pocketed her phone, and walked over to her. She pulled up a chair in front of Rachel and sat.

“You’re sure the storm’s coming today, Max?” Rachel asked, displaying more awareness than Max had suspected.

“I’m sure,” Max confirmed. “The night before the storm hit, there were two moons. I don’t know why it’s happening a day earlier, maybe it’s because I got my powers back, maybe not. I just know I’m not willing to risk waiting to see if I’m right or wrong.”

Rachel lowered her phone, and her pretty features twisted, conflicted as she looked at Max.

“Max... why don’t you go to the school and tell Juliet and Dana about the storm, bring them on board? You can trust them, just tell them about your powers and they’ll believe you after you prove it.”

“You sound like you’re not coming,” Max remarked, frowning.

“I’m going to keep looking for Chloe,” Rachel said, looking set on it.

Max’s chest ached. She knew how much Rachel was torturing herself over this, and she was worried about her. If Rachel failed to find Chloe again, she would likely suffer another breakdown, and Max wouldn’t be there to calm her down if she went off alone.

No matter how she spun it, she didn’t think it was a good idea. Dana and Juliet seemed to be her good friends in this reality, but Max didn’t have the same connection with them that she had with Rachel.

Max extended a hand, taking Rachel’s gently.

“Rachel, I want you to come with me,” she admitted honestly, and Rachel’s face crumbled a little.

“Max, I can’t,” she said again, echoing an earlier sentiment. “I can’t leave Chloe to help others. They’re not my priority; she is.”

“I know that, Rachel,” Max said, “but I don’t think you’ll find her ‘till she’s ready, and you can spend that time helping her in other ways.”

“Max---” Rachel started to say, looking doubtful, but Max had made up her mind.

“Rachel, please,” Max said, reaching out a hand for hers. “I need you with me. I can’t do this alone.”

As soon as the words slipped out, Max exhaled hard like she had been punched in the gut. Her eyes watered, and she looked away from Rachel, gasping a little for her next breath.

“Max,” a gentle, smooth and lilting voice called to her before tender fingertips grazed her cheek and turned her head.

Max turned her head to the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen, second to none, and matched only by one.

“You’re stronger than this,” Rachel coaxingly said. “You can do this alone.”

Max shook her head slowly.

“I’m not,” she said, struggling to breathe. “Rachel, I’m not. I wasn’t strong enough in my reality. I didn’t save her.”

Rachel looked at her, hazel eyes filling with sadness.  
  
“Remember when I told you that I had to make a choice between Chloe and Arcadia Bay?” Max asked, almost gasping, her throat felt so clogged and tight. “I chose Arcadia Bay, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to, Rachel. I only did it because Chloe asked me to.”

Her eyes watered and blurred, and when the first tear fell, her vision cleared, revealing Chloe on the side of the cliff with her.

“She asked me to save the town, and I tried to tell her no,” Max said, trembling as Chloe yelled it over the crackle of thunder. “But she begged me. She said… said her mom didn’t deserve to die in a fucking diner, that she deserved to live with David, and that there were too many people in the town. So many that... that we couldn’t be selfish anymore. She asked me to make the right decision, and I knew it was wrong. It was so wrong…” she whimpered, watching Chloe back away from her. “I’ll never forget you, Chloe.”

Small, lithe arms came in around her, and Max collapsed against Chloe, but they didn’t share a last kiss this time. They only hugged, and Max sunk into it gratefully, never wanting to move from the spot.

“Max,” a calming voice called to her, followed by gentle fingers on her cheek that brushed away a fallen tear.

“Chloe,” Max said, catching the fingers in her hand, but upon touching them, she realized they were wrong, and before her eyes, Chloe’s anguished face melted away, replaced with Rachel’s.

It took Max half a minute to realize they were on the kitchen floor of Chloe’s house, that Rachel was holding her in her lap, and that it was her warm hand on Max’s cheek, not Chloe’s.

Max lowered her eyes, swallowing hard.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, hoping she hadn’t revealed too much when the memory had taken her. She didn’t even remember collapsing.

“Don’t be,” Rachel said, not making any move to shift or let go of her.

“It’s just… why I need to help the town. What if… if there’s a part of her that still cares about it,” Max said and closed her eyes tight. “I can’t let her feel guilty about it, Rachel. I have to save them so that she won’t. It’s what she wants.”

Rachel delicately dropped a finger under her chin, lifting her face, slowly coaxing Max to open her eyes once more. Her friend’s beauty filled them.

“What can we do, Max? You said we needed supplies for the bunker? I can’t help as much as you think. My credit cards have all kinds of restrictions.”

“I don’t need your credit cards, Rachel. I just need you with me on this,” Max said with a shake of her head. “And the money? I know where to get it.”

“You do? Is it enough for what we need?” Rachel asked, and Max found her hand and took it, just happy that Rachel had decided to help her.

“If I’m right, it’ll be more than enough,” she said, squeezing Rachel’s fingers tightly. “You may not like it, Rachel, but we’re in a hurry, and it’s our only option.”

* * *

Max saw the junkyard from half a mile away, had been dreading it since she left the house. Even though they had barely eaten, her stomach felt queasy enough to make her regret breakfast, and as they approached the vast wasteland of crushed metal and garbage, it only got worse.

Riding shotgun in Chloe’s truck, Max rolled down the window for a breath of fresh air, but the smell of rusted metal and junked scraps only enhanced her dread.

Max blinked, and when she opened her eyes, it was dark out. The truck had stopped moving, and Chloe darted out in front of it, moving fast.

“Chloe!” Max shouted and moved to follow her, but her seat belt restrained her, strangling her for a moment.

That moment was all Chloe needed to start up the trail to Rachel.

“No!” Max shouted after her, frantically unbuckling her seatbelt and grabbing the door handle. She shoved her way out, tripped on the step, and fell into the dirt. “Chloe, stop!” she called after her, but her best friend wasn’t listening, didn’t know what would happen to her.

Max raised a hand and rewound, desperate to pull Chloe back, but her powers didn’t work, and it only hit her after that Chloe was still immune to them.

She scrambled to her feet and chased after Chloe through the dark. It was hard to see, and she tripped more than once, but it didn’t stop her from running to the destination she knew Chloe would escape to.

After what felt like a small eternity, she reached Rachel’s exposed grave and saw her best friend lying in the dirt, motionless. Her eyes were open, and they stared out lifelessly, catching Max head on in their gaze.

Max’s legs turned to jelly, and then she was crawling on her hands and knees.

“No,” she whispered, petrified as she drew closer, but unable to stop herself. As she came up to Chloe, her hand dragged through something wet, and her mind vaguely identified the substance as blood from the small pool that had formed around Chloe’s head.

She pushed through it, wetting the knees of her jeans as she wrapped her arms around Chloe and pulled her up, bracing her against her body. With trembling fingers, she touched Chloe’s pale cheek, and it was cold.

“No, Chloe, no,” she whimpered, clutching her best friend’s limp body. She moved her fingers to cup Chloe’s cheek, and it left a blood red stain on her beautiful face.

Max froze, horrified. She started gasping as the air became thin.

“Chloe,” she begged, shaking her a little. “Chloe, wake up! Wake up! Please...”

Her eyes blurred as sobs wracked her body, but the picture of Chloe’s eyes remained crystal clear in her mind.

“Max,” a voice said, and then arms grabbed her by the shoulders, ripping Chloe from her as the iron hold dragged her back.

“No! Let me go! Get your hands off me!” Max screamed, digging her heels in as she clawed at the arm, knowing what would follow.

Jefferson hissed and released her, and Max scrambled away, crawling right into Chloe. Her heart throbbed, and when she turned and saw him, pure unadulterated rage filled her.

“I’ll fucking kill you, Jefferson!” she shouted, jumping up to tackle him.

Jefferson squealed as she tumbled to the ground with him, and Max rolled until she was on top. She raised back her fist, ready to pummel him to death.

“Max, don’t! I’m not him!” Jefferson said in a voice that wasn’t deep enough. He sat up and grabbed her arms, only a few inches away, but made no move to retaliate.

Max hesitated, looking down at him hard, and as she did so, she caught those hazel eyes: hazel eyes that were soft and gentle, creased with worry, and they were wrong. They were wrong on his face.

She blinked again, and the image of Jefferson began to melt away.

“Rachel?” she asked, terrified as Chloe’s girlfriend came into being beneath her, and she was sitting up, holding back Max’s raised arms just like Jefferson had been.

Max glanced behind her and saw nothing. The grave, the blood, and Chloe had all disappeared, leaving a bare stretch of grass in the middle of the junkyard where the corpse of her best friend had been.

Birds chirped, and the sun shone bright in the sky above, bathing them in light.

“Max, look at me,” Rachel insisted, and Max turned. Gradually, Rachel released the hard grip on her arms. “I’m alive, Chloe is alive. She can’t die, remember? You would know,” she said very slowly, emphasizing the words for her, and Max could see it was true because Rachel was right there and she hadn’t seen Chloe travel through time again.

She hadn’t seen it, which meant Chloe was okay. Slowly, she lowered her arms.

“And Jefferson is rotting in prison.” Rachel promised, and Max sucked in a hard breath, tensing at the sound of his name. “He can’t hurt you,” Rachel coaxed, “he’ll never hurt anyone ever again. You’re safe, Max. You’re safe.”

Max inhaled deeply, feeling winded, and let out a great, shuddering breath. She tore her eyes from Rachel shamefully, staring down at their laps.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, feeling a deep thread of guilt that only multiplied when she caught sight of Rachel’s scratched up arm. She cringed. “I’m sorry, Rachel.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rachel whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me Jefferson took you, Max?”

Max shifted and crossed an arm over her stomach.

“I don’t know...” Max said, rubbing her wrist. “With Chloe and everything, we have bigger things to deal with. My… stuff is not important.”

Rachel cupped her face and made Max look at her.

“It is important,” she said definitively. “You’re important, Max.”

Max looked away, and Rachel let her go, shaking her head.

“I can’t even imagine…” she said, aghast, agitating herself, “the fucking shit you’ve been through, and you didn’t tell anyone? How? I don’t even know…”

“Rachel, it’s okay,” Max mumbled in a feeble attempt to calm her friend down.

“It’s okay?” Rachel blurted, sounding angry.

“I mean, it’s fine,” Max corrected quickly. “I’m fine when I don’t think about it. Just need something else to focus on.”

“Max,” Rachel said very directly, anger seeming to abate a little as she talked to her. She took Max’s arm, meeting her eyes. “You were there when I needed someone, you listened to me,” she said, squeezing her arm. “Let me return the favor. Please. You can talk to me.”

Max remembered it very clearly, when Rachel had opened up to her, and she wasn’t sure she could put herself back together if she let herself break down like that.

She shook her head.

“We don’t have time for that, Rachel. We have too much to do.”

Something hardened in Rachel’s face, then, and the next thing Max knew, her friend was pushing.

“Max, get up,” she said in a no-nonsense tone, and Max stood, realizing that she had been sitting on Rachel’s lap this whole time.

If Rachel was bothered by it, she made no note of it, only took Max’s hand and started walking away with her.

Max blinked.

“Uh, Rachel, the hideout’s behind us.”

“We’re not going to the hideout,” Rachel said stiffly with a determined look on her face.

“But that’s where the stash is---”

“We don’t need the stash. We’ll get the money somewhere else,” Rachel said simply, and Max frowned.

“Somewhere else?” she questioned, tripping a little as she slowed, noticing they were headed back out. “Rachel, that doesn’t make any sense---”

“I don’t care,” Rachel said, answers short and clippy. “We’re out of here.”

“Rachel---” Max protested, halting, and then had her arm nearly yanked out as Rachel continued to walk, not letting go of her.

“We’re not spending another minute here, Max.”

“Rachel, Jesus!” Max cursed, yanking her hand free from Rachel’s strong grip. “We can’t go. We need Chloe’s money.”

“Then, I’ll come back and get it,” Rachel insisted, reaching for her arm again, “but I’m taking you back to the dorm. C’mon.”

“That makes no sense!” Max repeated, getting aggravated. “We’re right here, Rachel. Let’s just go get it---”

Rachel stepped back in front of her and grabbed her other arm, looking Max in the eye.

“I care about you, Max. I care, and I just watched you cradle Chloe as if she had died. Do you know how much that scared me?”

Max lowered her eyes shamefully. She had gotten so caught up in the nightmare, she hadn’t fully considered how much it would affect Rachel to see that.

“I can’t watch my best friend relive the worst moments of her life,” she said, and Max glanced up at her, surprised, seeing Rachel looking anguished and emotional. “This place is… it’s a horrible reminder for you, and I need to take you away. Just let me,” she asked, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Please.”

Max instinctively hugged her, and she felt Rachel’s heart racing against her own.

“I just want you out of here, Max,” Rachel said, and Max closed her eyes.

“It’s no different than what you went through,” she said quietly, trying to calm both of them.

“It is different,” Rachel stressed, squeezing her, “and I had Chloe. You… you’ve been alone, dealing... God knows what that fucking sicko did to you, and you didn’t even say anything,” she whimpered, sounding truly hurt. “You lost your girlfriend, and then you get stuck with me,” Rachel said, and Max stiffened perceptibly.

Rachel had noticed it, and she pulled back to look at Max.

“It’s okay, Max. I’m not mad,” she said, and Max swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Rachel,” Max apologized, unable to hold her kind and understanding gaze. “We weren’t together, not really, just kissed a few times…”

She cringed, remembering the last time she had done so, and how much it had ruined.

“Rachel, there’s something I’ve been keeping from you,” Max said, meeting Rachel’s eyes timidly. “Remember how Chloe asked to be left alone?” she asked, throat tightening. “She did that because of me…” she said, swallowing again, summoning up her will. “Because I kissed her yesterday.”

Rachel’s eyes rounded a little, and Max couldn’t take it. She looked away like a coward.

“I’m sorry,” she said as the guilt multiplied. “It’s my fault. I just went on that fucked up time trip, and she was saying these awful things, that she’s changed and she wasn’t the Chloe I knew anymore, and she was so… I don’t know, like there was nothing left in her, and I couldn’t stand it. I wanted her to be wrong so badly, and before I knew it, I was kissing her,” Max confessed and closed her eyes, feeling wretched. “I should’ve told you in the first place. I’m sorry, Rachel. I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault; I lied to you, and I tried to make you fix my mess. Some fucking best friend I am.”

“Max,” Rachel called to her, and it was with a voice much more gentle than the backhand she deserved. Something warm pressed over her fingers, and Max realized Rachel had taken her hand.

Petrified, she looked at Rachel because Rachel deserved it; she deserved everything from Max, who felt like a lowly snake next to her friend, but when their eyes met, she saw no anger there: only sympathy and understanding.

“I don’t know everything you’ve been through,” she said, voice so sweet and gentle, she couldn’t have said it softer. She squeezed the hand she had taken, and her hazel eyes sweetly comforted. “Maybe you’ll tell me some day, but… you don’t have to be sorry, Max. I would’ve done the same thing.”

Wide-eyed, Max stared at her, and Rachel smiled softly.

“It’s okay, Max. I’m glad you told me,” she said again, and Max could feel her heart pumping. “Let’s… let’s get Chloe back first, and then deal with everything else after, okay?”

“Okay,” Max whispered in disbelief. It took her a moment to register that they were still in the junkyard, and that they still had a job to do here before they could continue. She glanced over her shoulder, back the way they had come. “The money, we should get it.”

“Are you sure, Max?” Rachel asked gently, cautious, but not pushy. “We can find it somewhere else.”

Max shook her head, looking back at Rachel, still a little dazed.

“It’s the fastest way,” she reasoned. “I’ll be fine, Rachel… as long as you’re with me.”

Rachel squeezed her hand again.

“I’m with you, Max.”

Slowly, hand in hand, they began to make their way through the junkyard with Rachel guiding them. Max stumbled along beside her, unable to pull her eyes away from her friend.

Maybe Chloe was right, she reasoned, and Rachel Amber simply was a perfect being.

* * *

Max approached the hideout with Rachel and instinctively squeezed her hand.

“I’m right here, Max,” Rachel reminded gently, voice soothing, despite her surroundings. “We can head back at any time.”

“No,” Max said, but without the same strong conviction she had had before. It just came out meek.

They were outside, but Max was already starting to feel small and crushed in on again, the same way she had felt this morning when she had escaped Chloe’s room.

“Just… say something every so often,” Max asked, wanting the constant reminder that she wasn’t alone out here. “I like hearing your voice.”

Rachel did her one better, and dropping her hand, she wrapped an arm around Max’s side and dragged her in close.

“Right here, Max,” she said again, patient with her as Max stepped up to the hangout with her. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

They crossed the threshold, and Rachel squeezed her around the middle.

“It’s just an empty room. You’re safe, Max,” she coaxed, practically glued to Max’s side.

Max looked it over and found the clubhouse looking almost exactly as she remembered it. Junk was strewn everywhere, and there was a small, wooden table in the corner with a few upturned stools around it. The blanket still hung on the far wall, but the rest of them were clear of graffiti. All except one.

Max sucked in a hard breath as her eyes fell upon the wall she had dreaded most, and beside her, Rachel gave her another squeeze.

“You’re safe, Max,” she said again. “You’re here with me.”

Max stared at the words, but they didn’t rearrange or change. She could see it in the back of her mind, but the memory wasn’t taking over her this time.

“Max,” Rachel said again, louder this time. She moved in front of Max and took her chin in her hand, making Max look at her again. “Answer me, Max.”

“I’m still here,” Max assured, shuddering a little at her accidental choice of words, but Rachel calmed her with one of her disarming smiles.

“I’m glad,” she said, letting go of her chin. She moved in front of the wall with the message on it, covering the words, and Max couldn’t tell if she had done it on purpose or not. “So, where do we look?”

“Chloe hid everything over here,” Max said, going to the far side of the hideout, making her way past some discarded sandwich wrappers. She crouched in the left corner and moved aside the debris.

She didn’t immediately see the cracks, but as Max ran her fingers over the cinder blocks in the wall, one moved under pressure and she managed to wiggle it free.

“Oh…” Rachel said, clearly surprised. She moved a hand over her bullet necklace, a little short of breath. “Did Chloe show you that?”

“By accident,” Max confirmed as Rachel stepped away from the wall and approached her. “I saw it in the time trip.”

“What have we got?” Rachel asked as Max reached inside. She pulled out a laptop and some folders.

“Laptop,” Max said, pushing aside the folders for the moment, intent on investigating the new find. She sat back as she opened up the lid of the laptop.

“No money?” Rachel said, almost sounding relieved.

“This could tell us something,” Max said distractedly, booting up the machine.

Rachel gave her a doubtful look.

“You’re a snoop, Max.”

“No, really. Maybe we’ll find other hideouts,” she insisted, which got Rachel’s attention.

“Other places to look?” she asked, sitting down next to Max.

“Maybe,” Max said, and then frowned as the computer came up to a password screen. “You don’t happen to know Chloe’s computer password, do you?”

“I doubt it’s the same,” Rachel said, sighing, sounding a little disappointed. “C’mon, Max,” she said, reaching for the laptop to take it. “What else is in there?”

“No!” Max protested, pulling the laptop back as it almost slipped through her fingers. “We can guess the password!”

Rachel gave her another look, this one skeptical.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” Max asked, pulling the laptop back into her lap firmly. “It can’t be that hard. It’s probably just your name or something.”

“Max, it’s not my name,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.

Max tried it anyway, and the computer beeped at her.

“Incorrect password,” an automated voice said from the speakers. “Hard drive erased.”

Rachel went rigid.

“Max, what did you do!”

Max squawked and quickly raised a hand, rewinding.

“Max, it’s not my name,” Rachel said again, and Max lowered her hand, exhaling in relief.

“Maybe not,” she admitted.

Rachel looked at her and frowned suspiciously.

“Did you just do something? You look guilty.”

“Um.”

“You just rewound, didn’t you?” she rightly accused. “Max, what happened? What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Max insisted. “We just… only have a few guesses. Chloe coded the laptop to destroy the hard drive.”

“How many is a few?” Rachel asked.

“One.”

“Max!”

“I used my rewind! It was okay!” Max said, defending herself.

“This sounds like a bad idea,” Rachel said, starting to reach for the laptop again, but Max turned so she couldn’t grab it.

“We can still get it! I’m sure it has something to do with you.”

“You’re worse than a cat, Max,” Rachel said with a shake of her head, withdrawing her hand.

“Just a few more guesses,” Max promised, straightening again.

“You could’ve told me that ten times already,” Rachel said.

“I didn’t,” Max said, pondering the possibilities. “Hmm… maybe it’s Rachel Price?”

“Max, what are you, eight?” Rachel asked, and Max glanced at her.

“I’m not the one blushing,” she said, and Rachel swatted her, cheeks burning.

“Be quiet and make your guesses,” she shushed.

“Okay, Mrs. Price,” Max teased. “Now, come on, let’s think… what about you is important to Chloe?”

“It could be a million things, Max,” Rachel said, doubting the fruitfulness of this venture. “Even if it was about me.”

“Angel!” Max exclaimed as soon as it came to her. “Maybe it’s ‘angel,’ Rachel. That’s what you are to her.”

Rachel gave her a sad, melancholy look, probably missing Chloe, and Max typed in her guess only for the computer to beep at her again. She rewound and tried it with a capital letter, but neither guess worked.

“It wasn’t ‘angel,’ was it?” Rachel asked the second time she came back.

Max shook her head, and Rachel’s eyes went to the cubby hole again as Max tried to think of others. A dozen possibilities ran through her head rapidly, and she tried a few to no avail, but none of them seemed prominent enough, even to her.

“Max, let’s just pull out the rest. We’re never gonna guess it,” Rachel said, getting impatient.  
  
Max glanced up, not ready to declare it hopeless yet, but her eyes caught on the far wall and she stiffened. Without Rachel standing there, the words were there again, clear as day.

Chloe was here.

Rachel was here.

Max was here.

She saw the words, saw them starting to rearrange. Blood red circles surrounded their names, and red letters began to paint themselves next to their graffiti. It strangled her, stealing her air like it was being sucked from the room, but as the familiar threat started forming, Max realized it wasn’t right.

She wasn’t on this wall anymore. Everything that was happening, it wasn’t real.

Max shook herself hard, and suddenly, the letters corrected themselves. The red disappeared, and so did her name, and it was gone because that wasn’t her reality here.

The park, nature, and fresh outdoors with her name scrawled on a tree, that was her reality now. Rachel was here, with her, and if she had anything to say about it, with Chloe when all this was said and done.

Max startled as the idea hit her.

“Rachel, maybe it’s your birthday,” Max suggested, looking away from the wall as she started to type it in.

Rachel sighed, getting aggravated.

“Max, it’s not about me. If I meant enough to Chloe, she wouldn’t have a drug business, and she’d pick up her damn phone, because she’d care about how much this is killing me.”

Max hit enter, and Rachel froze, because instead of erasing the hard drive, it booted up into the home screen.

They were in.

Rachel gripped her arm tightly, eyes mesmerized with the screen.

“What made you think of my birthday, Max? Was that just a lucky guess, or did you… did you see what happened that day?”

Max lowered her head.

“I saw it,” she confirmed, meaning the first day Rachel had kissed Chloe, the day they had professed their love for one another. “I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “I didn’t mean to intrude on your memories with Chloe.”

Rachel’s eyes glistened, and a single tear escaped out of the corner.

“What’s this mean?” she asked. “Was it real for her? Did she even feel anything?”

“It looked real,” Max murmured quietly, frozen, holding the little laptop that had caused all of this.

Rachel stood up quickly, not responding, and stepped right over Max to get to the cubby hole. She searched it desperately, and then pulled out a large, thick envelope. She ripped it open, and several large, rubber banded stacks of hundred dollar bills spilled out.

Rachel dropped to her knees so fast, Max thought she had fainted.

“Rachel!” she yelped, alarmed, pushing the laptop aside to help her friend.

“It’s all real,” she whispered, staring at the money in absolute horror. “Chloe’s a dealer, she killed Frank…”

Max latched onto her arm, trying to lend Rachel a some support.

“She has time powers like you...” Rachel whispered, unable to take her eyes away. “Fucked up powers. She used them for me,” Rachel said, fingers squeezing around the bullets of her necklace so hard, her knuckles were white. “Oh, God, how many times… I’ve fucked her up, Max, every time she’s had to save me.”

“Rachel, it’s not your fault,” Max said, but Rachel had whitened, and she didn’t seem capable of hearing.

“She’s gone,” Rachel whimpered, almost as white as a sheet. “I’ve killed her spirit, killed that light in her that I fell in love with, and I didn’t even notice, Max. She had to save me… too many times.”

“Rachel, listen to me,” Max said, getting in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders, blocking the view of the money, using Rachel’s technique to make the other girl look at her. “Listen, okay? Look at me,” she ordered, and when those glistening eyes found hers, Max told her forcefully.

“I’ve saved Chloe countless times, more than you can imagine. She died on me so much, it was like the universe had it out for her, but you wanna know something?” she asked, gripping Rachel hard to get her to focus and hear it. “I never regretted it, not once. I would do it again a thousand times over, and I still wouldn’t blame her. Do you hear what I’m saying, Rachel?”

Max pulled back a little, and Rachel’s eyes followed her. She squeezed her friend’s shoulders.

“All I wanted was to stop Chloe from getting hurt,” Max said. “That’s it, just for Chloe to be safe, and I’m willing to bet that’s what Chloe wants for you. She’s been through so much, so many lives, and you have always been her priority. She loves you, Rachel, and when we find her, you’re the one who’s going to bring her back. It’s always been you.”

Rachel lowered her head and wiped her eyes, shuddering with every breath she took. Max knew her anguish, and she was determined to ease it however she could. She removed a hand from Rachel’s shoulder, but squeezed with the other, giving Rachel a long moment to collect herself.

“I know this has been hard, but what we’re doing now? It’s for her, Rachel. Right now, this is what we can do for her.”

Rachel looked at her, and Max could feel her anguish.

“I just want to see her again, Max,” Rachel said like a plea. “I miss her so much.”

Max leaned in and wrapped her arms around Rachel, securing her in a tight and affectionate hug.

“Me, too, Rachel. Me, too.”

* * *

Standing in front of Kate Marsh’s door, Max breathed a sigh of relief when the door finally opened inward, revealing her friend standing there.

“Max,” Kate greeted with a warm smile. “How are you?”

“Doing great, Kate. Can I come in for a moment?”

“Of course,” Kate said, stepping back, very welcoming as she usually was. “I’m not alone, though. Stella and Brooke are here. You didn’t want to talk in private, did you?”

“Oh, no. They can hear it,” Max reassured, stepping into the bright room where her friends sat and waved in greeting. Max waved back and said, “I just wanted to see if you had heard about the End of the World party moving today? We’ve got a new location for it.”

“Oh, Max,” Kate said, moving in to sit next to Stella on the bed. “You’re sweet to think of me, but I wasn’t really going to that anyway. Were you, Stella?” she asked. “Brooke?”

“Vortex parties aren’t really my thing,” Stella said, agreeing with Kate.

“Me, neither,” Brooke started to say. “I actually have a date! We're going to watch this movie and go absolutely a---”

“Wow, that’s great, Brooke,” Max interrupted before Brooke could get on a roll and sidetrack her purpose here. “I’m happy for you, but I really wanted you to come tonight. We had something special planned, and I wanted all of you to be there for it.”

“I don’t know, Max…” Kate said, sounding unconvinced.

“Yeah, I don’t have the best track record with Vortex parties, Max,” Stella said, and it reminded her of the last party her Kate had been to. Her friend had been taken to the very same room she was trying to invite her to. It felt so very wrong to drag her back there, but she had to. “It’s just not my idea of fun. I’d rather hang out with Kate and Alyssa for movie night, no offense.”

“Aww, come on, guys, please?” Max asked. “You can bring your date there, Brooke. And for the rest of you, there’s this awesome surprise I want you to see. Rachel and I are both going to be there,” she said, adding the protective notion for them to consider. “Will you, please?”

Kate looked skeptical and hesitant, and Stella was no better off.

“I don’t want to date at a party, Max,” Brooke said. “Sorry, girl, I’m out. I have to get all pretty for it, anyway.”

Max cringed as Brooke started to leave. Hedging her bets, and prepared to rewind if it didn’t work, she blurted.

“There’s a tornado coming to destroy the town, and you guys have to go to the party because it’s above a bunker where you will be safe.”

Brooke stopped waking mid-step, and Stella looked at her like she had gone crazy.

“I can’t tell you how I know it’s going to happen,” Max said. “But it will, and you’re my friends. I want you safe. I want everybody safe, so will you please go to the party tonight? For me?”

“Max…” Brooke started to say, but before she could get anything else out or Max decided to rewind it, Kate said.

“Okay, Max.”

Max blinked, looking at her friend curiously.

“Okay?”

“I believe you,” Kate said, nodding. “And we’ll go to the party tonight.”

“You’re… you’re not shitting me, right, Kate?” she asked, irrationally afraid that Kate was just playing along until she left the room.

“No, Max, I’m not kidding you,” Kate said, sounding genuine, just like her normal self. “There’s been enough natural disasters of late that I believe it. You said you couldn’t tell us how you knew, so I won’t ask. We’ll be there at the party tonight.”

Max couldn’t help it; she threw herself into her friend on the bed, hugging her. She had had such a headache with everything that had been happening so fast, to have been doubted so often, it was nice just to be believed.

Kate hugged her back, and it was genuine, and it was warm.

“...and we can judge if you’re crazy after, depending if it happens or not!” Brooke added helpfully. “How many people have you told about this, Max?”

“Nobody like this,” Max confessed, rolling off Kate to sit between her and Stella. She gave Kate a heartfelt smile, truly appreciative of her, and Kate rubbed her back. “I’ve been trying to get people to come to the party, but I don’t know how to get an alert out to the town. I can’t tell anybody this like I’ve told you; they’ll just think I’m crazy.”

“Hmm…” Kate pondered, thinking on it.

“Yeah,” Max said. “I’ve been trying to think of something. Rachel and I are gonna get supplies for the bunker, and then head over to the diner to try to warn people. I just don’t know how yet… maybe I can get some of them to deliver food to the bunker... Oh! I could call up a lot of places to do that.”

“Or you could send out a tornado warning through the radio and tv stations,” Stella suggested.

“How would I do that?” Max asked. “I don’t know how to get on the airways.”

“But lucky for you, I do,” Brooke said, and Max looked at her, surprised.

“You do?”

Brooke shrugged. “Sort of? I haven’t done it before or anything, but you just have to hack into them.”

“Brooke, can you do that?” Max asked, getting her hopes up. “That would warn so many people!”

“I could give it a go,” Brooke said. “Just that, it’s a federal offense, so if I get caught and this tornado doesn’t happen, I’m claiming I did it under duress from you. Cool?”

“Totally cool!” Max said, standing to wrap her other friend in a giant hug. “Oh my God, Brooke, that’s amazing. We’ll be able to warn so many people,” Max said, nearly crying, she was so happy about it. “Thank you so, so much.”

“Hey, as long as you’re willing to take the blame for it, sounds like a fun experiment,” Brooke said with a chuckle. “I’m gonna have to get some things prepared.”

“I can help you, Brooke,” Stella volunteered, standing as Max separated from her.

“Thank you,” Max said again to all of them. “You have no idea what a relief this is.”

“Can we do anything else, Max?” Kate asked, and Max wanted to hug her again.

“Bring as many people as you can,” Max said, ”and get there as soon as you can. Maybe I’ll have the chance to tell you more when this is all finally over.”

* * *

Riding shotgun in a full truck after making their second supply run, Max was feeling a little better.

“It sounds like Dana and Juliet convinced most of the school to come to the party,” Max said, hopeful.

“Yeah… good idea, Max,” Rachel murmured non-committally.

“Stella thought of that, not me,” she corrected. “It might really work, Rachel. If people hear the alert, they’ll be able to get to safety. I only hope Brooke makes it convincing enough.”

“Yeah…” Rachel said, sounding distracted.

Max glanced over and saw her looking out the window, looking troubled and forlorn.

“We might find her at the diner, Rachel,” she said lamely.

“Maybe,” Rachel said, sounding doubtful, and pressed redial on her phone again.

They pulled up to the diner just a few minutes later, and Max got out of the truck with Rachel.

“I don’t see an RV,” Rachel said, deflating.

Max touched her arm, trying to reassure her, but Rachel didn’t even seem to notice.

“Do you want to wait in the car?” she asked, mindful of all the memories the couple must have had here. “I’m just gonna be a minute to tell them there’s been a tornado warning.”

“I’ll let you do that,” Rachel said, reaching for the door handle, “but let’s talk to Alma first, Max. Maybe she’s seen Chloe.”

“We can warn her, too,” Max said, getting out of the car with Rachel. “She doesn’t have anywhere to go; maybe we can take her with us.”

Rachel didn’t object or say much of anything, just went around the back of the restaurant with Max where they found Alma sitting, leaning back against the wall.

She heard them coming and lowered her eyes, greeting them with her usual welcoming smile.

“Girls,” she said, old and wizened eyes lighting up at the sight of them. “I wondered if I might see you today.”

“Alma, it’s good to see you,” Rachel said, stepping ahead of Max to kneel in front of the homeless woman. “But I’m afraid we’re short on time and have bad news. There’s a tornado coming, and we have to get you out of here.”

“So, it’s true,” Alma said, a hint of sadness showing in her face.

“You know about it?” Max asked, frowning, wondering if Brooke had gotten out the alarm earlier than she had thought.

“Yes. Chloe came by earlier and warned me,” Alma said, instantly drawing every fiber of Rachel’s attention.

“Chloe was here?” Rachel asked, voice quickening. “When? How long ago, Alma? Did she say where she was going?”

Alma’s eyes softened in sad sympathy.

“She pulled up in a fancy RV a few hours ago. Came out with Pompidou,” she told them gently, and Rachel’s face filled with the realization that they had missed Chloe not once, but twice today. “Didn’t say where she was headed, and I got the feeling she didn’t quite know herself. She asked about you girls.”

“She asked about us?” Rachel asked, tone taking on a bitter edge. “What did she say?”

“Not very much,” Alma said with a sad shake of her head. “She seemed to be looking for you.”

The words had probably been meant to soothe, but they evoked the opposite reaction.

“She’s looking for us?” Rachel asked, brows furrowing. “Then, why won’t she answer my fucking calls?” she growled, getting angry. “Where did she go, Alma? Which way?”

Alma seemed taken aback by the sudden outburst.

“Rachel…” Max started tentatively, not sure what to say. She put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, but it didn’t ease her friend.

“Where, Alma?” she asked again, demanding an answer.

“She drove off that way,” Alma said, nodding down the street leading away from the bunker. “I’m sorry I didn’t find more answers for you, Rachel,” she apologized, and Rachel nodded, expression darkening seriously. She reached into her pocket and tossed Max the keys to the truck.

“Get Alma to the bunker,” she said, already turning away.

Max’s eyes widened, and she sprang after Rachel.

“Rachel, wait!”

Rachel regarded her with a glance, but didn’t stop moving.

“Where are you going?” Max asked, gasping as she reached out for her friend’s arm. “Rachel, stop!”

“We’re already stocked up; you don’t need me for the rest of the party shit,” Rachel said sharply, not heeding her orders. “I’m finding my fucking girlfriend.”

“Rachel, no!” Max said, darting in front of her to block her friend, but Rachel simply moved around her. “You don’t know where she is! You don’t even have a car!”

“I’ll take the bus,” Rachel said, not even glancing at her anymore. “Or I’ll walk. I’ll walk the whole damn city if I have to.”

“That’s not going to accomplish anything!” Max called after her, and then had to hurry to catch up. She took Rachel’s wrist. “Rachel, you’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I don’t fucking care,” Rachel snapped, pulling her hand free of Max with surprising strength.

“Well, I fucking do!” Max cried, a little panicked by that response. She moved in front of Rachel again and grabbed her friend by the shoulders, finally stopping her for a brief, little moment of opportunity. “You can’t go, Rachel. You can’t. I need you to help the town, Rachel. I need you alive.”

“Fuck this town, Max!” Rachel growled, ripping one of Max’s hands off her shoulder roughly. “If she's just been waiting for me to find her, then what the hell am I still doing here?"

“Rachel, please!” Max begged, panicking. “I can’t go back to the bunker alone, I can’t handle it. Please don’t abandon me.”

In the midst of pulling away from her, Rachel stiffened and finally looked at her, meeting her eyes. She touched Max’s taut arm with a hand and squeezed it.

“Jefferson took you there, didn’t he?”

Max froze up, throat tightening. She felt exposed.

“Jesus, Max,” Rachel swore, stepping back in close. She wrapped her arms around Max and hugged her tightly, still sounding pissed. “You have to tell me this shit. How am I supposed to protect you if I don’t know these things? I can’t guess everything, Max.”

Max rested her head on Rachel’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Christ,” Rachel said, not sounding happy at all, “you’ve been making supply runs with me, intending to shelter people in the same place that sicko took you, and you didn’t even say anything. Fuck! That’s fucked up, Max. That’s really, really fucked up.”

“I’m sorry,” Max apologized, honestly feeling guilty about not having told her.

“You’re killing me, Max,” Rachel said, still sounding strained, and Max felt even worse.

“I’m sorry, Rachel,” she said again, softer this time. “I want to find Chloe, too, but I won’t risk you to do it. I can’t, Rachel. I can’t lose you again, not in this world.”

Rachel squeezed her harder, and Max could feel all her pain and anguish in that embrace. She held on selfishly, never wanting to let go.

“If Chloe doesn’t make it to the bunker…” she began tentatively, and felt the increased pressure of Rachel’s tight squeeze. “We’ll find her after the storm, Rachel. We’ll do nothing else, no matter where we have to go or how long it takes. Even if I have to travel through time, I’ll find you, and we’ll find her, Rachel. Just let me keep you safe through the storm.”

It took a long, long time for Rachel to answer, moments Max spent in paralyzed fear of rejection, but after a long struggle with herself, Rachel finally said.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll go with you, Max.”

* * *

When Rachel finally pulled up to the barn, she parked the truck and killed the engine, looking out the windshield at the festive decorations that had been put up outside.

Max saw her shoulders sag when they didn’t see Chloe’s RV again.

“Looks like they’ve been busy,” she said, fighting not to dwell on it.

“Yeah…” Max agreed, just grateful that she would be able to keep Rachel safe here.

Rachel glanced at her, and Max could tell how hard she was trying to keep a strong face for her.

“You ready?” she asked, and Max nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They stepped out of the truck and went around the back to help Alma, who had insisted on sitting outside in the truck bed.

Rachel extended a hand and helped the older woman down, and then immediately moved in beside Max and took her hand.

“We’ve got showers, a change of clothes, and a sleeping bag for you, Alma,” she said, squeezing Max’s hand reassuringly.

“Thank you, Rachel, Max,” Alma said appreciatively. “You’re an old woman’s angels, taking care of me like this.”

Max squeezed her hand back, wary at mention of the nickname, but Rachel seemed to shake it off, demonstrating incredible inner strength.

“Let’s go, Alma,” she said, voice strong and steady. Keeping hold of Max’s hand, she walked towards the great barn doors, leading them inside.

Upon entering, Max blinked, marveling at how different everything was.

All the old machinery and barn parts had been taken out and replace with tables, decorations, festive food, and the works. The old building had undergone a complete transformation, complete with dj’s setup in the back, square dancing platforms laid out to create a stage for people, and a fully equipped bar.

“Wow,” she said, spotting her friends doing various chores around the room.

To the left, Kate and Stella set up the food and refreshment stages, and at the back, Dana helped Juliet arrange the studio equipment while Alyssa laid down the final pieces of the stage.

“Quite a setup,” Alma observed.

“It’s a ruse to get people to the bunker,” Max said, and then was ambushed by Dana and Juliet, both of whom flocked to them with open arms and warm hugs.

“How are you doing?” Dana asked after the exchange of greetings, and Rachel shook her head, holding back the disappointment again.

“Max, you’ve got some explaining to do,” Juliet said in a reprimanding tone, giving her a disbelieving look.

“What happened?” Max asked, concern jumping. “What’s wrong?”

“Try that,” Juliet said, gesturing to a rug-covered spot on the floor on the right side of the barn. “What is that?”

“Oh, the trapdoor…” Max realized.

“‘Oh, the trapdoor,’” Juliet mimicked. “When were you going to tell us that we’re partying above of a secret basement that’s blocked by a freakin’ vault door? Or was that part of the party surprise for me and Dana? Because Kate, Stella and Alyssa seemed pretty cool with it, and when we asked why, they said, 'Oh, wait for Max, she'll explain everything about the tornado. You just worry about setting up the party.' So I was like, 'Yeah, no problem! Think you can help me move the pitchforks over there while we wait for Max to tell us about a fucking tornado?”

“I’m sorry,” Max said, wincing. “Juliet, it’s… it’s complicated.”

“‘Juliet, it’s complicated,” Juliet continued in her voice. “‘Let's just move the venue to this creepy ass barn in the middle of nowhere, yes, on the day of. Don't worry, we'll bring food, don't ask about the money, and don’t worry about the fucking tornado I forgot to mention. Okay?"

“Juliet,” Dana reprimanded gently, stroking her arm to soothe her.

“I’ll fill you in, Juliet,” Rachel said, volunteering where Max had started to stumble. “But Max and I have to take care of something first. We made another supply run; do you mind starting to empty the truck? We’ll meet you out there in a few minutes, and then I’ll explain everything.”

“I knew you were up to something,” Juliet muttered, giving both of them a dirty look. “Suggesting a freakin’ barn.”

“C’mon, Juliet,” Dana said, nudging Juliet, smiling a little, and took her hand.

“Better have one hell of an explanation,” Juliet grumbled.

“We’ll be unloading the truck,” Dana said, leading a disgruntled Juliet away.

They started to leave, and Max had the second thought to call after them, “The decorations look amazing, Dana,” she said, earning a smile.

“That’s my girl,” Juliet said proudly, wrapping an arm around Dana’s shoulders as they walked out.

“Is that Kate Marsh?” Alma asked as the girls walked away.

“You know Kate?” Max asked her, surprised.

“Kate regularly volunteers in the soup kitchen I go to,” Alma said with a warm smile. “She’s the sweetest helper, always gives us double portions.”

“Do you want to say hello?” Max asked politely, earning another hand squeeze and a sympathetic look from Rachel.

“I did it!” a third voice said as Brooke crashed in through the barn doors, looking entirely pleased with herself. “Kate--- oh, Max! Max, I did it!” Brooke announced again, rushing over to them.

“You can visit Kate, Alma,” Rachel said kindly as Max’s friend rushed to her.

Alma nodded appreciatively and went to do so as Brooke came up to them.

“You hacked the radios?” Max asked as Brooke grabbed her wrists and spun with her, elated.

“Not just the radios!” she exclaimed, extremely hyper. “I bumped onto the local channel 22 TV station, too! We’re in, Max!”

Max freed her wrists from Brooke only to hug her fully, eyes blurring.

“Whoa, Max, I can feel your heart racing!” Brooke said, laughing. “Don’t get too excited yet. The police may still come after me, which means you.”

“I don’t care,” Max said, and she really didn’t, not releasing Brooke from the embrace.

“If you don’t get arrested, you owe me a date, Max! Mine’s moping because I bailed. Practically blew up my phone begging me to change my mind. Kind of glad I dodged that bullet… actually, maybe I owe you a date, Max,” Brooke said, rubbing her back comfortingly, and then paused. “Uh, not with me, that is, but you know.”

“Thank you, Brooke,” Max said, voice clogging with emotion. “Thank you.”

“I got it out a little late, but some people will catch the warning,” Brooke said, sobering. “I made it legit as I could, Max.”

A hand gently touched her shoulder, and when Max finally pulled away from Brooke, Rachel was there again. She put an arm around Max’s shoulders, protectively close.

“Thank you, Brooke,” Rachel added, and Brooke gave them one last smile before venturing over to Stella at the snack table. She rubbed Max’s arm. “That happened because of you, Max,” she said simply, and Max looked over to see Rachel staring at her seriously, eyes sympathetic and kind.

“It wouldn’t have without all their help.”

Rachel squeezed her around the shoulders, and Max lowered her head, realizing all the distractions were gone now, and that there was just one thing left to do.

“Guess we should head down now,” she mumbled, feeling entirely unsure of herself.

“We don’t have to if you’re not ready, Max.”

“I have to be,” Max said, eyeing the rug on the barn floor. “Let’s get Alma.”

They fetched their friend and made their way to the trapdoor. Max bent and pulled up the rug, revealing the dark secret underneath, and Rachel opened up the trapdoor, which was missing the padlock it had had in Max’s world.

Max stared into the darkness, down that long, empty hall.

Taking Max’s hand once more, Rachel glued to her side and took the first step with her. Max hesitated, slow to move at first, but forced herself to, and then, before she could process it all, they were descending down the stairs.

“Oh, my,” Alma murmured in the quiet, astonished at the secret enclosure.

The hall was as dark and musty as usual, covered in cobwebs from its time of sitting, but the path to the door was clear of the webs, and all too fast, they were right in front of the foreboding door.

“I’m right here, Max,” Rachel said reassuringly, but Max could hear the astonishment in her voice.

“Okay,” Max said, trying to focus on Rachel and nothing else.

Without releasing Rachel’s hand, she went up to the keypad and inputted the code. Pressure unleashed as the locks disengaged and the doors opened.

Max braced herself and stepped into the bunker. She walked into the room, breath held, and found the first room almost completely empty. The shelves, full of binders with pictures of the girls, were gone, as was the computer, photo equipment, and table. The only thing that remained in the initial room of the bunker was the wall of supplies.

It wasn’t the dark room she had been locked up in, but even without the contents, it still gave her chills. It felt like someone was watching her, and it made her stiffen up.

“Max,” Rachel called to her gently, but loud for her to hear.

“I’m… I’m okay, Rachel,” Max said, shuddering. She had goosebumps all over her arms, and her stomach felt queasy, but she was still here. “This isn’t the room,” she found herself saying, “that he… that it happened in.”

Rachel squeezed her hand again and moved in closer to Max, reminding her by proximity that she was there.

“What is this place?” Alma asked, sounding awed.

“Alma!” Max exclaimed, startled, having forgotten she was there.

“It’s our shelter from the storm,” Rachel answered simply. “Do you know where the bathrooms are, Max? We’ll get Alma set up, and then I’ll bring the supplies down here and organize them.”

“Okay,” Max said, eternally grateful that Rachel was here. She had caught sight of a set of bathrooms on her escape from the bunker, so she led the others. “This way,” she said, taking them to a curtained off area in the back of the room.

Max reached up for it with trembling fingers.

“Is this it?” Rachel asked, probably having noticed her fear.

Max nodded, not saying anything, and Rachel reached up, placing her hand over Max’s to open the curtain, revealing the room she had been held in. Like the one before it, it had been emptied of all contents. Nothing was set up or threatening her; there wasn’t even a chair, but Max still hesitated to take that tentative step, freezing up with the memories, but grateful when the room didn’t change when she took the last fretful step over the border into it.

“Let’s go,” she said, moving quickly now because she had gained momentum, and she was afraid of stopping and getting stuck in this dark and lonely room. She led them straight through the room and found the restroom branching off another, and she didn’t stop until they were fully inside of it with the door closed behind them.

Max let out a great breath of air that she hadn’t realized she had been holding, but once she was breathing properly again, she turned to her friends, Alma and Rachel, and she felt a tiny bit better.

“Alma, you can get washed up here,” Max said, and Rachel looked at her curiously. “We’re bringing in supplies, and we’ll bring your change of clothes, but nobody will bother you here. You can take one of the sleeping bags to rest up afterwards, too.”

“I’ll help unload after,” Alma corrected, kind eyes shining on her. She came closer to Max and took her unoccupied hand. “Thank you,” she said, looking between Max and Rachel, and then suddenly, all her attention was on Max directly.

“Max,” Alma said gently, squeezing her fingers softly. “Whatever this place is to you, it’s a haven now. You have made it that.”

Max’s lower lip quivered, and suddenly, Alma was hugging her with those frail arms, murmuring, “Shh. Shh, Max, you’re okay,” she said without even knowing the cause. “You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

Max walked out of the bunker, hand in hand with Rachel, still warm from Alma’s arms.

* * *

“I can’t believe it, Max,” Dana said in awe, leaning back against the wall as she surveyed the party from the sidelines with Juliet, Rachel, and Max. “All of these people…”

“I wish I could’ve warned more,” Max said, watching the full barn party into the night. Students danced and others drank as they socialized with friends, giving Ms. Grant and Ms. Morrison quite a chore in trying to watch over them. It was surreal to see so many happy people enjoying themselves, completely unaware of the storm.

“You’ve done enough,” Juliet said firmly. After having been taken aside and told almost everything from start to finish, including Max’s powers and the truth about Nathan and Chloe, excluding the super sensitive details, Juliet’s anger had shifted to Nathan, who wasn’t there to vent on, making her particularly agitated.

Rachel didn’t say anything, just took Max’s hand again, the other limp, holding her phone.

“Well, if it isn’t the bitches who stole the pool away from us,” a nasty voice said, and Max glanced up to see Victoria with her usual duo, Taylor and Courtney, forming a small triangle with her at its head. “Whatever was Vortex thinking? This stale barn is much more attractive than a poolside DJ, isn’t it, girls?” she said, signaling to her posse with a look.

“So much better,” Courtney agreed, sneering obligingly in an exaggerated, sarcastic voice.

Max sagged against the wall, too exhausted for this kind of confrontation. It all seemed so petty now, beneath all of them, even Victoria.

“Jesus Christ,” Juliet spat, directing her anger at the willing volunteer. “Cut the cultist bullshit and scram, Victoria. No one has time or patience for you today.”

“Our ‘cult’ knows how to party, Watson,” Victoria sniffed at her haughtily, raising her nose to them. “It’s not my fault your tastes have fallen so low that you can’t even provide proper quarters for us anymore. Your shoddy barn doesn’t even have a VIP section.”

“I guess that means you just have to mingle with the commoners, princess,” Juliet said, leering at her.

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” Victoria quipped, quick and snappy in the art of verbal warfare. “It’s a shame, Watson, your little bitch dressed it up nice, but you just can’t hide the desperation this reeks,” she taunted, and Juliet’s fists curled at her sides. “At the very least, you could’ve provided some X,” she said, eyes wandering over to Rachel, “but I guess we don’t want to tempt people who have no self control, do we?”

“Get lost, Victoria,” Rachel said, rolling her eyes, not taking the bait.

“Aww, what’s wrong, Rachel?” Victoria taunted in a patronizing voice. “Is someone missing her mutt? Where is that tattooed freak anyway?”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed, and she growled, “None of your business,” betraying a little more emotion than was wise.

“Ooh,” Victoria said, her lips twisting into a cruel little smile. “She’s not here, is she? That’s a first for you, Rachel, you never go out without her. What happened?” she asked, patronizing voice returning. “You have a little fight?”

Rachel’s fingers tightened around Max’s.

Max opened her mouth to bark back, but Dana beat her to the punch.

“Victoria, walk away,” she warned, sounding angry, surprising the trio because Dana was usually the peacekeeper and she didn’t participate in fights.

“Why? Have I struck a nerve?” Victoria taunted, eyes returning Rachel, seeming very pleased with herself. “Did your little mutt leave you? Aww, poor Rachel,” she cooed mockingly, and Max could physically feel Rachel tensing up. “All alone without her girlfriend. Not so confident now, are you?”

“Victoria, shut up,” Max hissed, close to punching her.

Victoria looked at her in pure disdain.

“What’re you griping about?” she asked, distinctively glancing at their clasped hands. “Chloe’s gone for two seconds, and you’re already trying to move in on her girl. I guess Nathan was right about Rachel getting tired of Chloe,” she said smugly, “but not tired of being a dyke yet.”

Rachel’s jaw clenched, and her grip tightened painfully. Max moved in against her protectively, and Victoria looked at her, chin held high.

"I'd think twice if I were you, Max. Rachel's going to bail when she's got what she wanted from you. That's what she did to Frank, you know, she fucked him to get his shit for free. No idea what she wanted from Price, but she's probably finally gotten it, too, haven’t you, whore?”

“Fuck you, Victoria,” Rachel said, voice cracking, and suddenly, her hand wasn’t in Max’s anymore, and she was hurrying away from them.

“You wish, dyke,” Victoria called after her.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you, Victoria?” Max snapped as her friends chased after Rachel. She stepped up to Victoria, furious. “You’re so wrapped up in your own insecurities, you drag other people down with you, and you don’t know when to fucking stop! You’re hurting people, and they don’t deserve it. Think about it, Victoria, you go after Kate. Kate! She’s never fucking done anything to you or anyone. She’s never judged a person in her life, but you give her such shit, and for what? For telling people about abstinence, for starting a club that’s completely optional? Why, because it makes you feel like a whore? What, if someone makes you feel bad about yourself, they should feel like shit so you can feel better? That’s such bullshit, Victoria!”

Victoria looked taken aback and a little angry, but beneath all that poise and posture, there was the tiniest slip of guilt in her eyes, and Max jumped on it.

“I don’t know why you feel compelled to make enemies. You’re not a shitty person, Victoria. A shitty person isn’t there for her best friend when her mother goes into surgery. She doesn’t stand by her asshole friend while everyone treats him like a psycho. So, why pretend to be a bitch for everyone else?”

Victoria took a small step back, unprepared for the sudden change of tone and compliment, but that step pressed her into her posse, and with one simple glance back at Courtney, she straightened, regaining her poise, and the guilt in her eyes melted away under her indignant anger.

“Who are you to judge me, Max? You don’t get me, and I don’t need to listen to this bullshit, okay? Go back to your wannabe dyke,” she said, glancing the way Rachel had disappeared. “Because of me, you can probably get between her legs today,” she said, raising her chin to look down at her, and with every further word she spoke, Max could feel her blood boiling. “Of course, a little coke probably would have worked faster. Crackwhores never really quit, Caulfield; take it as tip for next time. You’re welcome.”

Max’s jaw clicked as it shut, and her fists shook. All sense of calm abandoned her, and Max advanced on Victoria in a sudden, furious rage.

“Jesus Christ, you really are like Nathan,” she hissed, practically spitting at Victoria. “Rachel’s fucking clean, and she went through hell to get there, okay? I bet you’ve never even wondered why, have you, Victoria? Never even questioned it,” Max growled and didn’t let her speak, overrunning Victoria’s snide and uppity answer before she could make one.

“It’s because of him, because Nathan tried to take advantage of her at the Vortex party six months ago. You remember it, that big Block party on March 28th? While you were off enjoying yourself, probably getting high, that fucker you call a friend dosed Rachel and told her he’d give her a ride home. Do you remember that, Victoria? Remember when they left together?

Except, when they got into the car, he didn’t take her home. He drugged her and touched her and whispered to her, calling her his, saying that only he could frame her, saying they would be happy together and no one else would get to see her, just him. He was going to fucking rape her! And he would have if Chloe hadn’t scared him off and saved her!”

“What?” Victoria hissed, a tiny tendril of fear entering her angry voice. “That’s bullshit, Max! Nathan’s never hurt that bitch! He would never do that.”

“You’d like to think so,” Max said, eyes narrowed, “but it adds up, Victoria. Think about it. When did Rachel quit drugs? When did she suddenly become afraid of Nathan drooling after her?” she asked, clenched fingers digging into the flesh of her palm. “Now, why the fuck do you think that happened, that she’s suddenly afraid of him? That she refused to go out to parties without Chloe from that day on? I bet you remember it now, don’t you?” she demanded, seeing that fearful tendril evolve in her eyes.

“Every time you went near Rachel with him around, she shrunk back from him. Every time he spoke to her, she felt like crawling out of her skin, and he taunted her about it! He knew she couldn’t turn him in, and he lorded it over her every time he saw her! Nathan’s fucking sick, and it’s about time you realize it!”

Max glared at her, almost challenging Victoria to counter her, but she had gone quiet, allowing Max to finish uninterrupted.

“Rachel stopped taking drugs because of him, but she was only able to because of Chloe. Chloe was the only one who cared about her, who stayed with her despite every bad choice she made, who gave up everything in her world for Rachel. She loves her so much, you will never even grasp it, so don’t come in here saying shit about Rachel and Chloe when you have no idea what kind of nightmare they’ve been stuck in. I don’t want to hear you insult Rachel ever again. Lay the fuck off!”

Victoria looked pale and she didn’t say a word. None of them did, not her nor her posse, they just stared at Max.

Max didn’t give them another minute. She had said everything she needed to and probably a little too much, and Rachel still needed her, so she left them like that, brushing past a shell-shocked Courtney and Taylor, leaving all of them quiet in her wake.

Struggling to get a hold on the raw emotion churning inside her, Max took off in the direction that Rachel had disappeared, determined to find her friends and offer Rachel whatever small comfort she could.

As she made it to the front of the barn, the loud music behind her suddenly shut down. Max barely noticed it. She opened the door and slipped out, finding her friends huddled in a semicircle close to the door.

“Rachel,” Max called out, going straight to her. When she reached them, she wrapped her arms around her closest friend, and immediately, Rachel returned the hug. Max felt a slight quiver in Rachel’s body, but if she had been crying, she wasn’t now. “Are you okay?”

“Max,” Rachel said, and it was a word uttered, packed full of emotion. She didn’t say anything else.

“Christ, I could kill her,” Juliet swore, still fuming.

“I don’t think we’ll have a problem with Victoria again,” Max said.

“Why?” Juliet started to ask. “What did you---”

“Max! Dude, get back here! You won, man!”

Max pulled away from Rachel, looking at the barn entrance where Trevor excitedly waved her to come.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, bewildered.

“The Everyday Heroes contest, duh! Get over here, you hero!” Trevor encouraged.

“What…?” Max asked, blinking.

“You won, dude!” Trevor said again.

Warm fingers slipped over hers, and Max recognized Rachel’s hand before she spoke.

“I didn’t know you had turned in a picture. See, Max?” she said softly, voice quivering a little. Her jaw twitched until she steeled it, smiling meekly, and took Max’s hand. “I knew you could do it.”

“But I didn’t…” Max mumbled, confused, but Rachel didn’t seem to have heard her.

“C’mon, Mad Max!” Trevor excitedly yelled. “Everyone’s waiting for you!”

“Wow, congratulations, Max,” Juliet said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You deserve it,” Dana said, staying close to Rachel as they made their way back to the door.

“But I didn’t sub---” Max started to say, but her words were lost in a roar of loud celebration from the partygoers when they reached the door. Kids clapped for her and raised their glasses, and Max was pushed along by the crowd. She lost Juliet and Dana first, and then Rachel’s hand slipped from hers.

Max stiffened, reaching for Rachel to take it back, but the crowd separated them and dragged her away. Max managed to keep sight of her until she reached the stage where bright lights blinded her from the crowd. Max blinked against them, searching the lower level, but they were all shadowed figures, none of which she could identify as Rachel, and then before she knew it, she was facing Ms. Morrison on the raised platform.

“Congratulations, Max,” Ms. Morrison said sweetly, and even without the music blaring, Max barely heard her over the party.

“But Ms. Morrison… I didn’t turn in a photo,” Max said, a little dazed.

“Oh, I know you forgot to, Max,” Ms. Morrison said, smile unfaltering, “but Chloe was sweet enough to grab the photo you had selected. She turned it in for you yesterday.”

Max’s stomach pitched as Ms. Morrison quieted the crowd and then began announcing her accomplishment. She looked out over the crowd again, but still couldn’t make out her friend from the faceless watchers, and then, Ms. Morrison was talking to her again. Max turned, vaguely recognizing the hand her teacher held out to her, waiting for it to be taken.

Numbly, she reached out and shook Ms. Morrison’s hand, and just as her teacher gave her a second congratulations, all the lights went out in the room, cloaking her in darkness. It was silent for a long moment until someone called out.

“Hey, let’s get these lights back on, huh?”

Max’s heart quickened as whispers slowly filled the room, and then voices started to speak again. Little pinpricks of light began to go up around the room, illuminating shadowy faces in the dim glowing screens of cell phones, and the eerie light grew, one by one, making hundreds of ghostly figures.

The wind howled, and then, suddenly, the soft slap of rain could be heard striking the ground. It started slow, but picked up quickly, coming fast and loud, and it only seemed to be getting louder with every moment that passed.

“Rachel?” she tried to call over the crowd, starting to sweat. “Rachel, are you there?”

“Jesus, it’s pouring!” someone else said from nearby. “The fuck did this come from?”

“Rachel, where are you?” Max yelled, louder, trying to be heard over the raging winds and people in the room. “Rachel!”

“Max, the storm!” one of her friends yelled out, but it wasn’t Rachel. “You have to tell them about the storm!”

“Rachel, please!” Max hollered over them, words stolen under the roaring crack of thunder. Everything seemed to be getting louder, everything but Rachel, who still hadn’t answered her. “Please!” she shouted again, stepping back as the darkness closed in, swallowing her and the hundreds of lights in the room, and then the voices all around her turned menacing.

_She could’ve saved my baby, Max, but you didn't even give her a chance._

_I die, the town lives, and you get to be a hero._

_Dude, I'm so tired... so tired, Max…_

“Max,” a familiar voice called to her. “Max.”

Arms folded in around her, and Max turned into them, immediately recognizing their size and warmth. She collapsed onto her friend, almost throwing her full weight into Rachel.

“Max, I’m here,” Rachel said, and Max buried her face in her friend’s neck.

“Rachel,” she cried, grasping her for support desperately. “Oh, my God, Rachel.”

“Shh, shh, Max,” Rachel soothed. “I’m here. I’m here, and you’re okay. You’re okay, Max.”

Max inhaled a deep, shaky breath, and then another. She stayed there for several long minutes, taking her time to shake off the voices while Rachel cradled her, whispering sweetly.

“Max!” Dana called out to her after some time, and Max peeked out, barely separating from Rachel to see her friend in the bright light of her cell phone on flashlight mode.

She pulled back a little further, supporting herself, and in the light of numerous cellphones, she saw everybody moving in an organized group to the trapdoor. Juliet, Kate, Stella, Alyssa and Brooke were all leading them, and gradually, the herd thinned as they disappeared down into the bunker.

“Dana!” Max cried as tears gently slipped down her cheeks. Her heart felt like it was going to burst. “Everyone, they’re…”

“They’re safe, Max,” Dana said, reassuring her as she came up to them with the flashlight. “And now it’s your turn. Let’s go.”

Guided by Dana, Max and Rachel walked to the trapdoor together, finding refuge from the storm.

* * *

Down in the second lower level of the bunker, Max shared a sleeping bag with Rachel, who had insisted on it. All around her, fellow students similarly lay in the quarters they had designated for sleeping, but only the lucky ones actually slept.

Max hadn’t even tried, and behind her, she knew Rachel was wide awake as well. After evacuating into the bunker, they had walked through the upper levels, helping get everyone settled, but Rachel hadn’t been up for it.

She had barely spoken since entering and moved with a total lack of energy for anything, so Max and Dana had left Juliet with them to continue helping, and they went downstairs in a futile attempt to ease her and get some rest.

None of them had fallen asleep, and all attempts at conversation had been quelled because nothing they said helped distract from the pressing fact that Chloe wasn’t there with them.

“Rachel?” Max called out softly, doing one of her routine checkups on her quivering friend.

Rachel didn’t answer, but Max felt the squeezing pressure of Rachel’s arms tighten around her stomach. She moved her hand over Rachel’s and returned the gesture.

“We’ll find after her as soon as the storm’s over, Rachel,” Max said, meekly trying to help Rachel the same way Rachel had been helping her all along, trying to be reassuring.

Rachel didn’t respond, and Max understood.

Max waited a short moment, but when her friend remained quiet, she adjusted herself in the sleeping bag, turning in Rachel’s arms so that she was face to face with her friend, but Rachel wouldn’t look at her.

Her friend just stared right past her, jaw tight.

“I haven’t gone on a time trip,” she said, struggling to find the words that would reassure or calm Rachel when she was having a hard time staying positive herself. She touched Rachel’s cheek gently, coaxing her friend to look down at her, but Rachel didn’t respond to it. “Rachel, she wouldn’t abandon you. She loves you.”

Rachel visibly swallowed, eyes glossy, but she held back the tears. It took her some time to find her voice, and when she finally spoke, it was strained.

“Are you… holding up?”

Max bowed her head, taking the change of subject with some difficulty. It was hard not to talk about Chloe.

“I’m okay,” Max said, having not had another episode since the blackout. She wasn’t worried about them anymore, not right now. “Not afraid anymore… just for Chloe.”

Rachel went taut, grip around her tightening, and Max just wished she could give Rachel her girlfriend back.

“What do you want?” Dana suddenly asked, vicious.

Max turned in the bag, seeing Victoria hovering nearby, looking entirely unsure of herself as she shone her flashlight she had found in their stocks near Dana, not yet seeing them a little ways away.

“Dana,” she said nervously. “I… I was looking for Max.”

“I’m not interested, Victoria,” Max said sharply. After storming away and all that had happened with the evacuation into the bunker, Max had all but forgotten about her squabble with Victoria.

Her return lit a small, angry fire in Max’s chest, and instinctively, she put a protective arm around Rachel.

“Max?” Victoria asked, surprised and hesitant. She shone the flashlight closer to them, and Max glared when the light passed over her face.

“Fuck off,” Max growled, getting angrier as she remembered Victoria’s callous words.

Victoria moved the light away, but she didn’t leave yet.

“Max, please,” Victoria pleaded with her, unable to let go when she should. “I don’t want to fight. I just… can we talk, please? It’s important.”

Max scowled at her, angry that Victoria was probably upsetting Rachel again, but Victoria seemed too nervous and genuine to be trying to play a trick or dirty game.

In wake of everything that had happened since their fight, Max believed she felt guilty, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to Victoria or deal with her problems right now, especially not when it meant leaving Rachel.

“Go,” Rachel said softly, and Max turned to her friend in total surprise.

“What?”

Rachel looked at her didn’t seem capable of many words, but she nodded at Max stiffly.

“You can go,” she managed, voice strained.

Max didn’t understand it. She lifted a hand to Rachel’s cheek and touched her, finding the soft skin slick with fresh tears.

“Are you sure?” she asked uncertainly, and Rachel nodded her head again, closing her anguished eyes. Max wiped away a fresh tear, feeling guilty to leave her. “You’ll be okay?” she asked more quietly, and Rachel nodded once more. “Okay, I’ll be right back, Rachel,” Max said to her softly, and then turned to Victoria. “Okay, Victoria, you’ve got one minute.”

She wiggled out of the sleeping bag and stood. On her way to Victoria, she purposefully passed by Dana, who sat near them with her back to the wall. She leaned over her friend and whispered, “Watch over her for me, okay?”

Dana took her hand, nodding, and started moving closer to Rachel as Max straightened, making her way to Victoria.

Victoria fidgeted nervously, quickly stepping back to let Max lead the way to a private corner in the back behind the makeshift counter of boxes they had dragged the sleeping bags out of.

She turned to Victoria, but her mind was on Rachel and Chloe. When she looked back in Rachel’s direction, it bothered her that she couldn’t see her friend at this distance in the darkness.

“What is it, Victoria?” Max asked bluntly, finally facing her and noticing how pale the Vortex club member was.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Victoria said, rubbing her arm with one hand, obviously nervous, “and I… I wanted to ask you seriously. Everything you said up there, about Nathan and Rachel…”

“It’s true,” Max replied, straightforward. “I didn’t make any of that shit up, Victoria.”

Victoria let out a shaky breath, holding a hand to her chest. She breathed heavier, seeming labored.

“He really… really hurt her?”

“Why do you think Chloe and I hate him so much?” Max said because Victoria clearly was having a hard time stomaching the truth. “It’s why Chloe beat him up.”

“I feared…” Victoria said, closing her eyes, “but… I can’t… I can’t believe this.”

Max glanced back into the darkness in Rachel’s direction again, not prepared to stay here for very long because she had to get back to Rachel.

“Victoria…”

“Look, I’m sorry, Max,” Victoria said suddenly, surprising her. “I’m sorry for making fun of Rachel. I didn’t know if I could believe you, but everything you said makes sense…” she trailed off, not seeming to know what else to say about that. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know she had that kind of shit in her life.”

“That’s your problem, Victoria.” Max pointed out. “You never think about what anyone else is going through, and people get hurt because of it.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” Victoria apologized, sounding stressed out. “I don’t even know why I do it. I just feel like I have to overcompensate all the time.”

“You don’t, Victoria,” Max told her directly. “You’re an amazing and talented photographer, and you need to start trusting that. If you don’t, and you keep putting people down, you’re going to hurt someone so bad, nothing will be able to fix it. I don’t want that on your conscience, okay? And I know you don’t, either,” Max said, and Victoria lowered her eyes, ashamed. “I meant what I said earlier, Victoria. You’re not a bad person.”

“Thanks, Max… you didn’t have to say that, so thanks,” Victoria said and lifted honest eyes back to her. “I’ll apologize to Rachel when all this is over. How’s she doing? Is she okay?”

“She’s been better,” Max answered grimly, glancing back over her shoulder into the forest of sleeping bags. “I should probably get back to her.”

“I understand,” Victoria said with a little nod, and then added. “I hope Chloe’s okay, Max, wherever she is.”

“Me, too,” Max agreed and started walking away from her, actually feeling a bit better.

“Max,” Victoria called after her before she could fully get away.

Max turned to her questioningly.

“I know you're one of the last people to ask, but have you seen Nathan at all today? I haven't seen him."

“Sorry, Victoria,” Max lied, feeling sick to talk about him. “I haven’t.”

“Oh,” Victoria said, looking thoughtful. “Well, okay. Thanks for hearing me out, Max.”

“Whenever you need, Victoria,” Max offered, extending that hand of friendship, and finally left on a good feeling.

Pulling her own miniature flashlight out, she made her way back to her spot on the floor, finding Dana sitting behind Rachel, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, speaking in a soothing, soft whisper to her.

They both looked up as Max came back.

“How’d it go?” Dana asked, continuing to stroke Rachel’s shoulder.

“Not bad, actually,” Max said simply, avoiding the details because Rachel wasn’t ready to focus on anyone else. She knelt near her friends. “How are you, Rachel?”

“I’m okay, Max,” Rachel said in a surprisingly level voice. She held out the extra large sleeping bag, inviting Max to join her again.

“Try to get some rest, Rachel,” Dana said, and Max didn’t know what she had done, but she was already thinking of Dana as some kind of miracle worker.

She caught Dana’s eye and hoped her friend understood her appreciation, and then slid back into the slot Rachel had offered.

“Thanks,” she said as Rachel cuddled up behind her.  
  
“I’ll try,” Rachel told Dana, who finally stood and resumed her old sitting position with her back pressed to the wall. “You try, too, Max,” she said in an even tone, and Max actually felt better and more relaxed because Rachel seemed to be.

“I will,” Max promised, feeling snug under her arm. She closed her eyes and saw Chloe, imagining her waiting for them, waiting to be found. Rachel seemed calmed now, and Max held onto that. If Rachel could make it through the storm, believing like she did, then Max could make it through the night. She could make it with Rachel.

* * *

Max shivered, curling up tighter to keep warm, but it didn’t help. Despite the sleeping bag cover, she was cold. She rolled flat onto her back, blinking, and her vision barely changed, it was so dark. It took her a long minute to adjust, coming back to awareness, but Max finally realized the lack of warmth came from the fact that Rachel’s arms weren’t around her anymore.

“Rachel?” she asked, turning the complete opposite way to check for her companion in the far reaches of the sleeping bag, but she found nothing.

Rachel wasn’t there.

Max sat bolt upright, calling out, “Rachel? Rachel, where are you?”

A few students stirred, mumbling their discontent, but Rachel didn’t answer.

“Fuck!” Max swore loudly, fighting her sleeping bag as she scrambled out of it.

“Max?” Dana asked tiredly from nearby, and even in the darkness, Max found her in an instant.

“Rachel’s gone!” she said, and it was all she needed to say before Dana snapped out of her sleepy haze and joined her.

“Oh, my God, Max,” she gasped, helping Max to her feet as they both took their flashlights out.

“I know,” Max said, struggling to think straight. “Check the bathrooms, Dana, I’ll see if she’s still down here.”

“Meet me at the stairs,” Dana said, already suspecting that they wouldn’t find her.

Max was fairly sure of it, but she did what the small rationale in mind had ordered. Nearly tripping over several sleepers in her rush, she hurried to the wall and flicked on the light switch, illuminating the room so that she could scan it quickly.

Among all the sleepers stirring in their beds at the sudden brightness, there was no familiar, flawless head of long and gorgeous brunette hair.

Rachel wasn’t there.

Max turned off the lights and fled for the staircase. It took every ounce of willpower in her body to wait for Dana, who turned up alone a few seconds later.

Together, the two of them bounded up the stairs to the first underground level that Kate had taken charge of. It was a quiet room of religious reflection and prayer, and at the head of the small gathering, Kate led them and counseled the group, giving hope to the scared students in praying with them.

Wordlessly, Max took one side, and Dana, the other. They searched up the rows for their friend, but didn’t find her. In less than a minute, they were racing out of the room and came into a lounge where other students sat, conversed, and snacked together, watched over by Ms. Morrison.

Rachel wasn’t there.

“Get Juliet out of the kitchen,” Dana said, finding it hard to breathe now. “I’ll check the bathrooms up here.”

Max nodded numbly and moved through the lounge into that kitchen where they had brought all their food supplies. She found Alma serving the food and Juliet and Ms. Grant at the stoves. She grabbed away her friend with one word: “Rachel.”

Juliet excused herself from Ms. Grant, and the two of them met Dana in the dining room, which had so few students, it only took a few seconds to check for Rachel.

All of them looked to the curtained-off area that separated the first room with the door to the bunker, an area they had separated from the rest of the students so that no one would fiddle around with the entrance.

Together, they slipped past the curtain and entered the abandoned room.

The bunker door was closed, but there was a coldness in the air, one that penetrated her blood and bones.

Max knew she had escaped out of here.

“You’re sure she’s nowhere in the bunker?” Juliet asked, having only checked the last few rooms with them.

“She’s not here,” Max answered simply, slowly approaching the door.

“We have to go after her!” Juliet said, loyal beyond belief. She rushed to the keypad and started typing in numbers.

“No,” she said, freezing her friend to the spot. Juliet looked over her shoulder, shocked. “I’ll do it.”

“With your rewind?” Dana asked, understanding a little faster, clinging to a little spark of hope. “Can you do that, Max? You don’t even know when she took off.”

“I can do it,” Max confirmed. Even if Rachel had disappeared hours ago, she would reach for it. She couldn’t let Rachel die in the storm, not alone.

“Really?” Juliet asked, seeming more doubtful. “You can bring her back?”

“Yes,” Max answered confidently, locking her hands together so that they couldn’t see the quiver of her fingers, “but you won’t remember this conversation,” she warned, and Dana’s arms came in around her.

“Just bring her back, Max,” she whispered, so emotional, Max could feel her heart racing. Or maybe that was her own. She couldn’t tell anymore; she just was scared, scared and alone.

Juliet came in next and hugged her.

“Come get us when you get her back, okay? We’ll all watch over you.”

Max didn’t speak her mind, she just hugged Juliet back, trembling.

“Okay,” she said, and her friends finally pulled back from her.

There were tears in Dana’s eyes, and Juliet kept glancing at the number pad nervously.

Max’s throat felt tight and she couldn’t look at her friends.

“Goodbye, Dana, Juliet.”

Dana’s head rose, alarmed by the farewell, and Juliet reached for her, but it was too late.

Max raised her hand, and everything started to rewind.

Dana and Juliet came in around her first, but within seconds, they were gone, leaving Max alone in the room as she pushed her power, rewinding back further and further. She couldn’t see any changes happening, but she felt it. A small headache strengthened into a mind-numbing migraine in her skull, but Max pushed on, even as her head started to split under the pressure and her legs wobbled precariously, turning to jelly as the rewind sapped her strength. Her arm hurt, and it started to lower, so Max grabbed the trembling limb with her other hand, fighting to hold it up.

Her body shook and her vision blurred under the strain, and the copper, metallic taste of blood touched her lips, but Max didn’t stop, and she didn’t close her eyes. She had to see, had to see the door open and Rachel come back to her.

As her head ripped in two and her body quivered, Max choked and her legs gave way. She collapsed to the floor, barely able to see the metal door as anything but a giant blur, but with everything within her, she fought and held up her arm.

Then, the blur moved. It opened up and another blur joined it, and with a terrible pant, Max collapsed to the floor.

“Max!” a startled voice hollered, somewhere distant, and Max barely felt it as hands touched her. Her whole world shifted, rotating, and Max almost threw up until it stopped a moment later. “Oh, my God,” the voice said, horrified, and began wiping under her nose. “Oh, my God, what did you do? Max.”

Max barely recognized the voice, could hardly see anything through her blurry eyes, but she knew.

“Rachel,” she said, choking on the word.

“Don’t try to talk,” Rachel said sharply, still wiping away the blood.

Max closed her eyes. Her head hurt, and her body felt as if it had been run over, but she was safe in Rachel’s arms. Ignoring the order Rachel had given, she wheezed, “You can’t go.”

Rachel went quiet, and Max took the much-needed moment to rest in her trembling arms. She didn’t open her eyes until long minutes later, and it was to see through fuzzy-edged eyes that Rachel was crying.

“Max, please don’t,” she begged, choking on her name. “Don’t make me hurt you again. I have to go after her. I have to.”

“I know,” she said, knowing the depths of Rachel’s pain because she shared it, because she had been thinking about nothing else since coming into the bunker, and she knew Rachel had been feeling it since the first call she had made that Chloe hadn’t returned.

Max didn’t know how she had lasted this long, but she shared her torment, and she knew Rachel wouldn’t stop trying to go after Chloe, and she couldn’t rewind again.

“I’m coming with you,” she said, falling back on the only solution she had.

Rachel buried her face in Max’s shoulder, unable to stop sobbing.

“Thank you,” she whispered through the tears, “thank you.”

They stayed there for a little while longer, and gradually, the throbbing pain in her head abated just a little more. Max reached up for Rachel’s shoulder, bracing herself, and her friend helped her up despite the pain.

“Can you stand?” Rachel asked shakily, supporting most of her weight.

“Yeah… just need a minute,” Max grunted, trying to rest weight on her legs.

“You really scared me, Max,” Rachel said softly.

“I couldn’t lose you,” Max told her truthfully. “I panicked.”

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said, squeezing her around the shoulders.

Max began to shake her head, but stopped when it made her dizzy.

“I should’ve known. All this time, how much pain you’ve been in… I’m sorry I held you back so long.”

“I’m just glad you’re coming with me now,” Rachel said, slowly releasing her grip on Max’s arm.

Max stood on her own, but she gripped Rachel’s hand, breathing in slowly.

“Are you ready?” Rachel asked, hesitant.

“Yeah,” Max finally said, bracing herself. “Yeah, we can go.”

Rachel squeezed her hand, not looking entirely convinced, but too anxious to wait.

“Just hold on to me, Max.”

“Okay,” Max said, approaching the keypad with her. They punched in the code and a blast of cold air greeted them immediately as Max pulled back the giant door. She cringed, still a little shaky and in a lot of pain, but she had Rachel by her side and that was enough.

With Rachel, Max left the bunker the same way she had come in. They shut the giant door behind them, and Max shivered at the sudden cold.

Rachel squeezed her hand, and they walked to the other end until they hit the stairs at the base of the trapdoor.

Rachel pulled out her phone.

“Any service?” Max asked, and Rachel shook her head.

“Not yet,” she said. She let go of Max to lift her trembling hand to the trapdoor and pushed them open.

Cold winds howled, gusting against them, and freezing cold sleet burned Max’s skin the moment she stepped out into the crumbling barn.

Rachel didn’t seem to notice the chill. She pulled Max in close under an arm and started moving as she attempted to redial, staring intently at the screen.

“Can you even hear anything?” Max shouted to be heard over the storm.

Rachel looked up at her and shook her head, so Max tugged her closer and yelled right into her ear, “Let’s get to the truck!”

Rachel nodded, and the two made their way through the debris and wooden boards that littered the ground. Whole chunks of aged wood had fallen inward sometime before, and the whole barn shuddered against the force of the gales, but Rachel ignored all of this, seeming completely unaffected by the deafening and powerful gusts. Slowly, she led them out of the ruined barn, holding Max tightly as strong winds threatened to topple them.

As soon as they left the relative safety of the cracking barn, rain and sleet hammered against her, feeling like hailstones, and it soaked her through in seconds. She shivered again, not dressed for this kind of weather.

They finally made it to the truck, and after several long and arduous minutes, they managed to open the door long enough to slip inside.

Max went in second, and the door snapped shut behind her, almost clipping her heels. She collapsed into the seat, holding her aching head and moaned.

Rachel touched a hand to her shoulder, but was already calling Chloe again as Max laid there in horrible pain.

“Chloe?” Rachel said suddenly, making Max raise her head to stare incredulously.

“She picked up?” she asked, heart racing for another reason.

Rachel put the phone on speaker and held it out in front of them, but for the crack of wind and rain coming down on the truck and background noise of the storm on Chloe’s end, silence filled the air.

“Chloe, are you there?” Rachel asked desperately. “Please say something, Chloe! Please. Is it really you? Are you okay?”

Another moment of quiet passed, and then, from the other end of the line, Chloe spoke.

“Where are you?” she asked simply.

“Chloe, we’re at the bunker,” Rachel answered, clutching the phone like it was her last lifeline. “Max and I are at the bunker, and we’re safe. You need to come here! I need you to be safe with us, please! You need to be here.”

The phone went quiet again, and Rachel’s breath hitched. When Chloe didn’t answer within the first few seconds, she pleadingly asked, “Chloe, please answer!”

“Stay there,” Chloe ordered.

The phone clicked, and Max saw the timer stop on the phone call as the bright screen went dead in her hand.

Rachel stared at it, transfixed, and Max’s stomach dropped.

“Chloe?” she asked, grabbing the quiet device from Rachel’s fingers.

“She hung up,” Rachel said, face draining of color.

Max desperately tried to redial, but when the call went out, no one picked up.

“She hung up…” Rachel whispered, crumbling quickly. “Max, she’ll die.”

Before Max could start stressing, it clicked in her head.

“I think she’s at the lighthouse, Rachel.”

Rachel looked at her, barely able to speak through her sobs.

“How do you know?”

“I have a hunch,” Max said simply. “I used to see the lighthouse in visions, and Chloe’s been getting them; she should know that it’s safe. I think she’s there, Rachel, I really do.”

Rachel didn’t say anything, didn’t seem capable of it, she just grabbed up the keys from the seat where she had dropped them, started the car, and drove away into the storm.

* * *

"Rachel, stop. Stop! We can't go any further!"

Max had barely gotten the words out before she pitched forward in her seat, the truck stopping abruptly as they hit a fallen tree in the middle of the park trail.

"Shit," Rachel snapped, striking the steering wheel in pent up frustration. "Shit!"

"Rachel," was all Max could manage, helpless to do anything but watch Rachel unravel more and more with every passing minute.

Not seeming to hear her, but finally done hitting the car, Rachel released the wheel and jammed the truck into park.

"Come on, Max," she said, grabbing the door handle roughly. She forced it open and rushed out.

Max scrambled after her and was blasted with seizing cold rain the moment she stepped out of the truck. It blinded her, making her bring up her arm to shield her face from the gales as Rachel charged right into them.

She hurried after Rachel, following her through the storm and up the hill. It wasn’t long, but it seemed like an eternity before she finally caught up to Rachel at the top of the hill, shadowed by the daunting lighthouse.

Soaked, sodden, and uncontrollably trembling, she took the final, aching steps to the precipice and froze right next to Rachel.

There Chloe was, sitting on the bench like she had once done on a Monday afternoon in another world, an otherworldly storm her backdrop as opposed to a beautiful sunset that had been worth capturing on film. It felt like it had happened years ago, they both seemed so young back then.

"Oh, my God," she heard Rachel say with such emotion that she felt her own heart race. "Chloe. Chloe!"

Max felt an ache in her chest, realizing just then that she had yelled out Chloe's name at the same time Rachel had.

Together they ran to her, but when they got close enough to the bench, Chloe sprung to her feet and whipped around, aiming a gun right at Rachel.

"Found me on the first try, huh?” she asked, hands steady and voice, unwavering. “Should’ve known Max would think to come here."

"Chloe, please," Max begged when Rachel was rendered speechless, and when Chloe looked her way, she nearly shivered, the look in her best friend's eyes far colder than the rain. "Before you decide to do anything, just hear us out, okay?” Max asked, voice betraying her by quivering. “Hear Rachel out. She has something to tell you."

Chloe's eyes narrowed at her, revealing nothing, and then she turned to Rachel again.

"Max told you what I can do?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer, she held the gun to her own head. "You want me to bring Frank back?"

"No!" Rachel cried out, daring to close the distance between them, but when Chloe backed up to the edge of the cliff, she had to force herself to stay put. "Damn it, Ellie, I'm not here for Frank, okay? You. I'm here for you!"

"Chloe, listen to her," Max insisted when her best friend had no reaction. "You've died for her God knows how many times and lived the same six months over and over and over. You owe it to yourself to know her side, to know how she really feels about you."

Rachel briefly grasped her hand and squeezed it, silently thanking her before taking one step closer towards Chloe.

"Chloe, I never loved Frank," she began honestly, needing to raise her voice to be heard over the storm. She stayed where she was, but Max could see the incredible effort that took. Rachel wouldn’t last forever. "I used him like I used you before, like I used anybody who had anything I wanted. I lied to you, Chloe,” she confessed, fingers trembling so bad, she had to grab her wrist with a hand to steady it. She swallowed and picked back up, confessing all the hardest parts.

“I made you think I was going to run away with you when I was planning to skip town with Frank behind your back. I was an asshole back then, not just to you, but to everybody who knew me, including Frank. He was just another tool to me, no different from the rest. I used him to get the drugs. That’s what I did, Chloe, what I was. I played everyone around me, but worst of all, I played you,” she said, eyes glistening as she revealed her darkest secrets, bearing herself to Chloe.

“I'm sorry I never told you about any of this, because when you saved my life six months ago, I just wanted to start over with you,” Rachel pleaded with her, barely able to contain herself. “You made me want to be better, Ellie, and you made me care, for you, for Joyce and David, for Juliet and Dana, for Max, and I love you for that. I love you for it more than I love you for saving my life that day.”

Rachel took an emotional step towards her.

“I'm sorry I never told you about Frank, that I made you feel like I was only with you because I couldn't be with him,” she said and started slipping with her words as they got harder to say through a tight throat, “and I'm sorry--- I'm so sorry I've been so fucking blind and stupid that I didn't even notice I've been hurting you all this time."

Chloe listened to Rachel's every word, her expression no different from when Rachel had started, and when Rachel was finally done, all she did was blink.

"You don't love me," she said, and it broke Max's heart that there was no anger or bitterness in Chloe's voice, only acceptance. "No one loved me, not the way I was. Not my own mother, not my best friend, and especially not you."

"Rachel did," Max declared, surprising even Rachel. "She’s so obsessed over all the bad things she did that she doesn't even realize she really cared about you. Chloe, you see proof of it every time you go back. Every time, you wake up to her crying, crying because she's so happy you're okay, crying because she was so scared and worried about you. I don't know how you miss it every time, because I only saw it once and it was so obvious to me.

And you know what else is obvious? That Frank was jealous of you, and I know because he told me that and because I saw it. Jesus, Chloe, they had that big fight because of you, because Rachel was spending more time with you than Frank!”

Chloe shrugged, the gun still held to her head.

"Probably just felt guilty she nearly got me killed."

Rachel shrank back, the words cutting right through her, but Max stepped in front of her and faced Chloe directly.

"You can think all you like of what she feels about you, Chloe, that she didn't love you before you got your powers and she doesn't love you now, but you can't deny that you love her. You've gone through hell to bring her back. You were trying to save her, even if it meant she'd still be with Frank, even if it meant she'd leave town with him without telling you."

Chloe let her gaze linger a little longer on Rachel before finally looking at her.

"I don't know what that has to do with anything, Max."

"Everything!" Max roared, the outburst startling Rachel but not Chloe. "What are you going to do when you go back? Keep Frank alive and try to save everyone from the storm? I know you'll try, now that you think you caused it, I know you'll try to save everyone. I know because that's what I did, because that's what you asked me to do, and look what happened, Chloe, look what happened to you.

All the shit you've dealt with, all the shit you've done, are you willing to put Rachel through that or worse? I used my powers to save your life, and when the time came, I didn't choose you. What makes you think that whatever gave us our powers isn't playing the same game with you? Are you willing to risk Rachel to prove me wrong?"

Chloe tensed, the very suggestion of sacrificing Rachel clearly angering her, and Max went on, seizing her chance. Behind her, Rachel grabbed her hand fretfully.

“Chloe, this all happened because of me, because I fucked up so much that I tried to fix it the easy way,” Max said. “I traded you and everything we shared to erase my mistakes, and you lived, Chloe. You survived the storm, you survived me, and you saved Rachel. Did our powers cause this storm? Fuck if I know, and fuck if I care, but what I do know is that you’re meant to be alive, that it’s as inevitable as this storm,” she said and advanced on her, and Rachel followed a few cautious feet, but Chloe started to squeeze the trigger.

Max froze, only a few feet away now, almost close enough to reach out and grab her.

“In another life, in another time, I stood here with you and made a choice,” Max said, gripping Rachel’s hand so hard, it hurt her fingers. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to go back and change it, but if it led to this?” she asked, gesturing to both of them. “To you and Rachel alive, the town given a fighting chance, I can’t regret it. And you shouldn’t either, Chloe.”

A crack of lightning struck the lighthouse, lighting up the entire sky around them, and temporarily, Chloe’s face, which had finally changed.

“So you fucked up,” Max said harshly, “you did things you shouldn’t have, but if there’s one thing I’m sure of after what I’ve been through, it’s that you can’t fix everything,” she said, and all noise was momentarily drowned out in the resounding boom of a thunderbolt. Max shouted to be heard over the winds, which picked up. “And I’ll be damned if I let you go back and erase yourself from our lives the way I almost did!”

The wind died down, and Max took another step towards her where Chloe stood frozen in the storm, so close, she was an arm’s length away.

“Chloe, you’ve had to deal with so much shit your whole life, even before you got your powers, but you’re here now, and so is Rachel. Are you really going to risk losing her again?”

Chloe took a step back, closer to the edge, and Rachel cried out. She released Max’s hand as Chloe turned, facing the storm, and Rachel ran for her, covering the last few feet in just a few bounds.

Chloe cocked back her arm just as Rachel’s came in around her. With one final heave, she threw the gun over the cliff, swearing, “Fuck!”

Rachel embraced her and dragged her back from the ledge, sobbing, “Ellie,” she cried, overjoyed. “Oh, my God, Ellie.”

Chloe sagged in Rachel’s arms, but Rachel showed no sign of stress or inclination to let go of her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, body shaking with her tears. Burying her face in the back of Chloe’s shoulder, she wept.

Max approached her friends, cautious not to intrude, but as soon as she got close enough, Rachel extended an arm and yanked her into the awkward hug from the side, and she wrapped her arms around both of them.

Standing on the precipice of the cliff under the loom of the lighthouse, the three of them watched the storm lay waste to Arcadia Bay.

* * *

 

**Epilogue: In the Storm's Wake**

**October 11, 2013**

Rachel pulled off to the side of the road near a dense thicket of trees and killed the engine. She breathed out shakily, and when Max turned in her seat, she saw her friend bracing both hands on the steering wheel, knuckles white.

“Rachel,” Max gasped, reaching over to her friend instantly. “Are you okay?”

“It happened because of me,” Rachel said in a hushed voice, face half-hidden by the ragged, daunting shadows of the trees. “Your powers, Chloe’s… ” she listed, turning pale, “everything you went through, this whole town… all of it to bring me back,” she murmured, entirely lost in thought.

Max tried to rub her arm, but Rachel didn’t snap out of it, so she found herself stuck watching.

“...and she chose to keep me here,” Rachel whispered in disbelief. She stared out the windshield, but Max didn’t think she was seeing anything. “She chose me…”

She stayed like that, expression strained and disbelieving, and then suddenly, she turned to Max.

“Like you were going to choose her,” she said, and Max remembered the storm in her world when she had chosen the wrong thing. Max rubbed her arm again, this time close to her wrist.

“She loves you, Rachel. Of course she chose you.”

Rachel withdrew her hand from the wheel immediately and took Max’s to squeeze.

“Wow,” she said in a hushed breath. “I’m… I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“It’s real, Rachel,” Max promised, squeezing her hand back. “Chloe chose you.”

Rachel exhaled heavily, dropping her other hand from the wheel to her lap, still seeming a little shaky.

“I’m sorry, I’m a mess,” she apologized, shaking her head. “You’ve done so much for me, Max,” she said, lifting her hazel eyes to Max, woeful. “I can’t apologize enough.”

“Don’t,” Max said, clasping her friend’s hand in both of hers. “I put us here, Rachel. It was my choice that did it. If anything, I should apologize to you.”

A light touched Rachel’s eyes, even in the shadows of the trees, and it transformed her whole face, erasing the fear and uncertainty, simply making her more beautiful than anyone had a right to be.

“You brought Chloe home,” she said, expression completely serene. “You saved me. Don’t be sorry.”

Max stared at her, unable to take her eyes away from the strange and exquisite transformation Rachel had undergone to be at peace. It was nothing short of captivating; Max could look upon it for eternity, and wanted to, but when she spoke about Chloe, Rachel’s eyes went to the back window, looking out at said girl who sat in the truck bed with Pompidou, and her gorgeous eyes saddened, changing her whole face.

“She hasn’t spoken since she threw the gun away,” Rachel said, and Max finally broke of the spell Rachel had enchanted her with. She peered through the back window, seeing Chloe sitting hunched over, stroking Pompidou idly. “You think she’s okay?”

“Not yet,” Max confessed honestly, though she wasn’t scared anymore, “but I think she will be.”

Rachel lowered her hand to the console between them, and Max pulled one of hers back, but not both. The other, she kept tightly grasping Rachel’s fingers.

“Will you be okay?” Rachel asked, pretty eyes flickering to her in concern.

“I hope so,” Max said, staring at her knees. “I mean, I think so… as long as I have you and Chloe.”

“We’re never leaving you, Max,” Rachel promised, and Max closed her watery eyes. For the first time in two weeks, after what felt like years, she had something to look forward to.

“I’m holding you to that,” Max said, leaning her head back against the seat. They sat there in a comfortable silence until Rachel squeezed her hand.

“I’m thinking of checking on everyone in the bunker,” she said, and Max opened her eyes to see Rachel looking through the windshield in the direction of the Prescott barn a quarter mile away.

“That would be nice,” Max admitted, wanting to know if they were all okay.

“Do you want to do it?” Rachel asked, turning to ask her. “I’d like to together, but Chloe might not be up for it, and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

Max agreed; they had just done everything in their power to get Chloe back, they weren’t about to leave her anytime soon.

“If Chloe doesn’t want to come with us, I’ll stay back with her,” Max volunteered.

Rachel smiled at her, and it had such a calming effect on her, it felt like they were hugging each other.

“You’re a great friend, Max.”

Max finally released Rachel’s hand and reached for the door handle to let herself out, but Rachel called her to pause one more moment.

“Max, before we go out to her…” Rachel said with a glance back through the window at Chloe. “Be easy on her, okay? I know Chloe did things… and it’s harder for you because you saw them, but now isn’t the time to deal with them. If we treat her like she’s some kind of monster, she’s going to believe she is one.”

“I wouldn’t treat her that way,” Max said, reaching out to squeeze Rachel’s shoulder. “She’s my angel, too.”

Rachel’s eyes glistened, and she grabbed Max’s arm, face filling with emotion. “Then, let’s go get her, Max.”

Rachel let go of her and opened the driver’s side door to get out. Max did the same and followed her to the back of the truck where Chloe sat quietly, stroking Pompidou, and they both climbed into the truck bed with her.

“Mind if we join you?” Rachel asked, and Chloe glanced up.

Pompidou lifted his head as well, ears perking up. He stood and wandered away from Chloe, going to Rachel instead, tail wagging anxiously.

Rachel knelt and pet him, and Max waited behind her until Chloe spoke.

“If you want to...” she invited uncertainly.

Rachel stood and Pompidou yipped for more attention, and then moved on to Max when Rachel went straight to Chloe and sat next to her girlfriend.

Max smiled, reaching out a hand to Pompidou, and took a seat in the opposite corner. She pet Pompidou idly, but her full attention was on her friends.

“Hey...” Chloe greeted, sounding hesitant. She jumped a little when Rachel reached out and took a hand between hers. “What…” she asked, shocked eyes dropping to the point of contact as if she couldn’t believe Rachel was touching her. “What’s happening...?” she asked, and then feebly tried to salvage the awkward greeting. “I mean, why’d we stop?”

Rachel stroked Chloe’s hand with her thumb methodically.

“We wanted check on everyone at the bunker,” Rachel told her patiently. “Most of the school is there. You want to come with? It’s okay if you don’t.”

Chloe hesitated, and Rachel gave her one of those smiles that could win awards. She reached up to Chloe’s hairline, making Chloe stiffen, eyes wide in shock as she brushed back a few blue strands.

“Don’t worry about it, Ellie,” she assured, understanding her girlfriend without the need for words. “I won’t be long, okay?”

“Alright, um,” Chloe said, lifting a hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it. “I’ll… see you in a few, then.”

Rachel smiled pleasantly, hand dropping to cup Chloe’s cheek tenderly. She turned Chloe’s head to her and leaned in.

Chloe froze as their lips brushed, but Rachel didn’t let it affect her passion for the contact. It wasn’t anxious or overdone, and it wasn’t too long or too slow; somehow, Rachel maintained admirable control of herself without giving in to the incredible emotion she must have been feeling, and she found a perfect middle ground in kissing Chloe. With the simple affection they had shared more than a hundred times before, Max saw and physically felt how much Rachel cared for her.

When Rachel finally pulled away, Chloe was stiff and staring, looking perplexed and a little lost.

“See you soon, Ellie,” Rachel promised faithfully.

“...okay,” Chloe mumbled, eyes big and round. Rachel cupped her hand in both of hers and squeezed it, and then finally stood.

Chloe’s eyes followed her as Rachel jumped out the side of the truck and began to walk away.

Max let her watch as Rachel departed, not saying anything, and then only called Chloe’s attention when Rachel was fully out of sight.

“Mind if I stay?” she asked.

“Uh, no,” Chloe said, running a hand through her hair as she faced her best friend. “I mean, sure. Stay. If you want to.”

Max nodded, and Chloe shifted, bringing her legs up. She stared at her knees for a long, quiet moment, and Max turned her head back to Pompidou, not sure what to say to her friend.

The silence stretched, and Max ran over some possibilities in her head, but dismissed them all, too nervous about every one of them. She remembered Rachel’s words and silently cursed, not wanting to make it seem like she didn’t want to talk to her best friend. She just had no idea what to say.

“I hope they’re okay,” Max finally blurted, unable to find anything else she found acceptable.

Chloe’s blue eyes rose to her, and they were so confused, Max wanted to hug her.

“The school?” she asked, and Max nodded once. “You told them…” Chloe murmured, seeming dismayed.

“We used the End of the World party as a ruse,” Max explained to her so that she would understand, “and moved it to the barn to get all the students to go there.”

“That was smart,” Chloe mused quietly, gaze returning to her knees.

“It wasn’t just me,” Max said because she didn’t deserve that much credit. “Everybody helped, Dana and Juliet most of all. They put the whole thing together. Kate, Alyssa, and Stella helped with set up, and Brooke hacked the stations to broadcast the warning. I wouldn’t even have gotten there if it hadn’t been for Rachel. I didn’t really do anything, really, just asked people for help.”

“You made the difference.”

Max looked at her, but Chloe was still preoccupied with her knees.

“Not just to them,” Chloe said, lifting her head to look at Max with soulful eyes. “I wouldn’t have picked up if it hadn’t been for you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, unable to hide the quiver in her voice.

“Your rewind during the storm,” Chloe said softly, voice carrying a hundred thousand woes. “It went on so long… I thought something happened to you or Rachel, thought you were hurt.”

“Oh,” Max said, finally understanding. Her heart quickened, fearing the consequences they could have faced if she hadn’t rewound then, if Rachel hadn’t made her do so. “I did that for Rachel… she snuck out of the bunker alone. I had to call her back.”

Chloe was quiet for a long moment, eyes dropping to Pompidou, who she stared at.

“I don’t get it,” she finally admitted.  
  
“Get what?” Max asked, not grasping her thought.

“Rachel,” Chloe said simply.

“There’s nothing to get, Chloe,” Max answered back just as frankly. “She loves you.”

“How?” Chloe asked, rubbing her legs as if suddenly cold. “I’m a murderer and a drug dealer. I’ve killed in cold blood, but she still looks at me like…”

“Like you saved her life?” Max finished. “Because you did,” she stressed, happy to point it out. “You have, many times, and you just did it again.”

Chloe stared at her and blinked, the adorably clueless expression reminding her so much of the Chloe she knew and loved.

“Shit,” Chloe blurted, and there was something about the tone and the timing of it that made Max smile.

“Yeah,” she agreed, relishing the lightening mood and knowing it probably wouldn’t last.

Chloe reached for Pompidou, who stood and jumped into her open arm, barking a few times appreciatively before he snuggled into her side and licked her chin, tail wagging excitedly.

When Pompidou had calmed down, satisfied with the attention and affection he had received from both of them, Chloe looked her in the eye and asked a question she had been asking herself from the start.

“Max, why do you think you got your powers?”

Max let the words sink in, holding Chloe’s gaze as she did.

“Chloe, I got my powers when I saw you die,” she said, a slight quiver in her voice, “and it let me change that, it let me save you. How can I believe it was for anything else? I know what I chose when it counted doesn’t reflect that, but even that, I did because of you, for you.”

“Oh,” Chloe mumbled, finally figuring it out. “That’s why you kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Max admitted, sighing. “I’m really sorry about that, Chloe. Rachel knows, I told her, and she’s not mad at you. She isn’t even mad at me for it. She’s been really awesome, you know, about all of this, dealing with this time and space crap, dealing with us.”

“Yeah,” Chloe said, echoing her response earlier, “and she wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you, if you chose me. So, for what it’s worth, Max, thank you. I couldn’t have done what you did. I can’t speak for the other me, the one you knew, but for me, it’s a lot easier to ask than do.”

Max nodded, not knowing how else to respond outside of the urge to be closer to Chloe.

“And I’m glad you didn’t have to bear Arcadia Bay on your conscience. I’d hate for you to deal with that on top of all the other shit you went through,” Chloe added, her tone a bit angry, a bit grateful, and more than a bit remorseful. “I’d take that and more if it meant keeping it from you and keeping Rachel alive.”

Max watched Chloe say it, and she saw her, the one she had fallen in love with. A little different, a lot broken, but Chloe was here, with her, and Max wouldn’t trade her for the world, not again.

“I got lucky,” she whispered, well aware that on this day, she may very well have been on her way to Chloe’s funeral, Arcadia Bay ignorant of the girl who died in its place. “But I’m done taking my chances. No more powers from here on out.”

“That’s going to be weird,” Chloe muttered, and Max knew it was a promise to do the same.  
  
“Yeah,” she said, smiling when she saw Rachel heading back to them, silhouetted against the setting sun, and Max wordlessly grabbed Chloe’s hand. After five long years of being lost, plus an extra two weeks that had lasted even longer, Max finally felt like she was home. “But we’ll figure it out.”

**End**


End file.
